Sibling Rivalry
by voyager1713
Summary: A pokemon journey. PLEASE R
1. Act 1

Sibling Rivalry  
  
Originally By Ross Jacobsen Transferred to fanfiction.net by voyager1713 Chapter 1-Brotherly Love It was late at night at the Oak lab. The only source of light came from a  
  
house about five blocks down the street. Light shown through two separate windows. In one room, a ten-year-old boy was studying late. He had to take the PTE, or Pokemon  
  
Trainer's Exam, tomorrow. But before turning in, he decided to pay a visit to his brother in the next room.  
  
In the other room, a eleven-year-old, named Ross, was also getting ready to  
  
go to sleep. He too had been studying late to pass the pokemon trainer's exam. He was  
  
setting his alarm clock when Adam burst in, wearing a Gengar mask and holding a flashlight just under his chin to give a spooky effect.  
  
"BOOOOO!!!!!"  
  
"I was wondering when you would try to prank me Adam," said Ross.  
  
"How'd you know that it was me?" asked the curious boy.  
  
"Easy," said Ross, "You do this every time something important is going to  
  
happen tomorrow and every one knows that no Gengar can say 'boo'."  
  
"Yeah, I guess I do."  
  
"Well good night. Remember, since you got that early acceptance grant,  
  
you're also taking the P.T.E. this year."  
  
"Alright, alright," said the annoyed Adam as he went into his room. Ross  
  
finished setting his alarm clock and climbed into bed. Chapter 2-A Simple Trip to the Pokemon Center The next day, Adam and Ross got onto there bicycles and peddled down to the  
  
pokemon center to take the PTE. They walked straight up to the service counter where  
  
Nurse Joy and Chansey were stationed.  
  
"Hi Joy, Hi Chansey," said Ross.  
  
"Chan-sey," said Chansey.  
  
"Hi Ross. That's right, today is the day you take the PTE isn't it," Joy  
  
replied.  
  
"Yep, my brother and I are both confident that we will pass."  
  
"I know you will. After all, you did decide to work here for a year  
  
instead of taking the PTE. Chansey, show our friend and his brother back to the exam rooms."  
  
Nurse Joy reminded them that they would receive different tests in  
  
different rooms and were each handed a disk and Chansey showed them into the back area. Ross was taken into a room full of computers. He took a seat at a computer  
  
and ran the program on the disk.  
  
Ross saw a title screen and started the test. 2 sets of 15 different  
  
pokemon appeared on the screen. The instructions on the bottom said to match a pokemon on the left  
  
next to a pokemon that it had a natural advantage over on the right. Ross lined them up  
  
easily and hit the section complete button. The next part of the exam involved treatments and pokemon conditions. Ross also found this part of the exam easy. The final part of the exam was identifying pokemon by 3 dimensional shadows. It took Ross a while to work through this part of the test because it was impossible to tell just which side was supposed to be down.  
  
Then the final screen popped up and said to return to the front desk and  
  
turn in the disk for scoring. Ross closed the program and ejected the disk. He then stood up, stretched, and walked towards the door.  
  
He opened the door and...THUD!!! Something knocked the door shut and Ross  
  
back onto his butt! Ross slowly got back onto his feet and slowly opened the door. He then saw what knocked the door closed on him.  
  
Adam! Apparently, he had been running to get his test corrected and  
  
basically tackled the door shut when Ross opened it. Adam got back to his feet, shoved Ross out of the way, and runs ahead of Ross to the front desk.  
  
Ross caught up with Adam and they both turned in their disks and Joy put  
  
them into a computer and ran the scoring program. A couple of seconds later, the evaluating computers that had our disks let out a chime.  
  
"Congratulations," said Joy to Ross and Adam, "You both got perfect  
  
scores!"  
  
"Really?" asked Ross and Adam in unison.  
  
"Yep, Professor Oak will receive a new batch of pokemon tomorrow, so don't  
  
forget to get up early, or all of the best pokemon will be gone by the time you arrive."  
  
"Alright," said Adam, "I'll see you after the annual tournament."  
  
"Bye Adam," said Nurse Joy. Adam ran outside towards his bike, mounted up,  
  
and rode off towards his home.  
  
"Is something wrong Ross?" asked Joy.  
  
"Yeah, I'm afraid I'm going to have to quit and take my money with me on my  
  
journey," said Ross.  
  
"Come by on your way out of town, I'll have it for you then," said the  
  
nurse  
  
"RING RING RING, RING RING RING, Phone Call, Phone Call" said the computer.  
  
"Hold on a sec Ross," said Joy. She answered the phone and said, "This is  
  
the Pallet Town Pokemon Center," While Joy took the phone call, Ross looked at the  
  
dedication plaque on the floor of the lobby.  
  
'The Pallet Town Pokemon Center  
  
Constructed in 1998  
  
Built by the greatest pokemon master,  
  
Ash Katchem'  
  
"ROSS!"  
  
He snapped back into reality and looked over to Nurse Joy. She said, "Come  
  
here!"  
  
Ross knew that something was wrong by the urgency in Joy's actions.  
  
"I'm afraid that there's been an accident, my cousin on the phone will fill  
  
you in."  
  
Joy then ran back to the emergency room and the ER light turned on. Ross  
  
picked up the receiver and said, "What's going on Joy?"  
  
The Joy on the screen said, "The local pokemon gym leader quit when it was  
  
found out that he was leader of Team Rocket."  
  
"Gary Oak!?! Leader of Team Rocket!?!" Exclaimed a surprised Ross.  
  
"None other. Anyway, he destroyed his old gym and several innocent people  
  
and pokemon were caught in the blast. Our pokemon center can't handle them all so  
  
we're sending some of them to your pokemon center. Joy will take care of them, but we need you to run the front desk since you know how to treat the less serious injuries." Sirens started to ring in the background of the phone. "Gotta go, bye!"  
  
With that, the screen went blank. Ross slowly put the phone back on it's  
  
receiver. He opened a drawer. In the drawer was a name tag with ROSS written across it. Ross picked it up and slid the card through the computer slot. The screen flashed to life and a greeting appeared on the screen, 'Hello Ross.' He pinned on the name tag and heard sirens approaching in the  
  
distance.  
  
Then a bunch of ambulances pull into the parking lot and start unloading  
  
pokemon. Ross directed everyone that was carrying stretchers of pokemon into the emergency room. When they were all in, Ross had to start treating the individual trainer's pokemon.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Back at home, Adam had just arrived and told his parents about him and Ross  
  
acing the PTE. Adam started packing his camping gear when his mom came in and asked where Ross was.  
  
"I don't know," replied Adam.  
  
Just then, the phone rang. "Hello?" asked Adam's mother.  
  
"Hey mom, this is Ross, there's been an accident so I got stuck working at  
  
the pokemon center. I'll be home in a few hours," said the voice over the phone.  
  
"Okay, I'll send you a dinner if you're not home by 5:30," replied his  
  
mother.  
  
"Alright, I'll have a list of things I need packed and deposited on my  
  
computer. Gotta go, more injured pokemon are coming in, bye!"  
  
"Bye," said his mother as she hung up the phone.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Ross had finally finished off the dinner that his brother biked over. He  
  
looked longingly at the ER, wondering when Joy would be done. It had been a pretty busy day for Ross. He figured that he must have treated every pokemon ever known to exist. Ranging from Abra to Zubat, from bugs to water, from the 8-inch-tall Diglett to the 28 foot, 10 inch long Onix. He was glad that he finally finished his now-cold dinner.  
  
Ross let out a huge sigh when he returned the last pokemon and directed its  
  
trainer into the rest room. He slouched in the chair, practically asleep, when the ER light went out. He stood up straight and stretched.  
  
"Thanks a lot for all of your help Ross, I really appreciate it," said  
  
Nurse Joy.  
  
"No problem," said Ross and he looked at his watch. "Oh man, It's 11:00!  
  
I gotta get home if I'm going to be able to wake up in time to get one of the pokemon I  
  
want."  
  
"Bye Ross, and thanks again!" said Nurse Joy.  
  
"Chansey, chan," said Chansey as Ross walked to the door.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
That night, as an exhausted Ross walked into his room. Ross set his alarm  
  
clock for about an hour before Professor Oak would start handing out pokemon, climbed into bed, turned off the light, and fell asleep when his head hit the pillow. Chapter 3-To Professor Oak's The next morning, Ross woke up to his alarm clock. He quickly showered,  
  
dressed, grabbed the backpack that his mom packed for him the night before, and went  
  
downstairs. When he got there, he realized that his brother was finishing off his breakfast and was on his way out of the kitchen. Ross quickly wolfed down his breakfast and left for his bike.  
  
Ross mounted up and started to bike for Professor Oak's Research Lab.  
  
About halfway there, he had to cross a bridge spanning a small stream. It was there that he heard a small voice that sounded like it was coming from under water.  
  
"Squir-tle!" cried the voice.  
  
Ross stopped and saw a Squirtle fighting against a bird pokemon by the  
  
bridge.  
  
"Spea-row," said the bird as it came around for another pass.  
  
Squirtle tried to slow down the Spearow with bubble, but missed as Spearow  
  
used a fury attack and knocked the Squirtle onto its back. Spearow landed next to the  
  
fallen Squirtle, preparing to deliver the fatal blow. That was when Ross had seen enough.  
  
He maneuvered his bike so that he would go straight at the Spearow, and  
  
rolled his bike over the lip of the hill.  
  
"Leave that Squirtle alone you ugly chicken!" Hollered Ross as he barreled  
  
down the old river bank.  
  
The Spearow flew off into the air when he spotted Ross coming at him. The  
  
Spearow, angry at this interruption, began to attack Ross as he got off of his bike.  
  
"Yikes!" said Ross as the Spearow dive-bombed at him. Ross jumped to the  
  
side and Spearow missed.  
  
"Spea-row!" it cried as it came around for another pass.  
  
Ross removed his backpack and held it up like a bull fighter. "Torro,  
  
torro," said Ross as he lightly shook the backpack.  
  
"Spear-ow!" yelled the enraged bird. Apparently Spearow didn't like being  
  
made fun of. Spearow then began his attack, charging beak first towards the backpack the was considered to be its adversary. The infuriated bird came closer, and closer, and closer to Ross until...  
  
Ross dropped the backpack out of the way, leaving Spearow heading straight  
  
for a bridge support! Spearow, realizing that he had been tricked, tried to pull away, but it was too late.  
  
THUD!!!  
  
The Spearow had been knocked out and gotten his beak stuck in the wooden  
  
bridge support!  
  
"Ole," said Ross.  
  
"Squirt, Squirtle, Squirt!" cheered the Squirtle, which was still rolling  
  
on its back. Ross walked up to the Squirtle and rolled it onto its stomach so that the  
  
Squirtle could stand up on its own.  
  
"Are you all right?" Ross asked the Squirtle when it got back on its feet.  
  
"Squirtle, Squirt," said the banged-up Squirtle.  
  
"You'll be fine when you get back into the water," said Ross. 'Of all the rotten luck,' thought Ross, 'Here I find a Squirtle, my favorite pokemon, in a  
  
perfect condition for capture, and I haven't gotten my pokeballs from Professor  
  
Oak yet. Professor Oak!'  
  
Ross looked at his watch and said, "Oh man, I'm gonna be LATE!!!"  
  
Ross ran off to get his bike as Squirtle watched him admirably. Squirtle  
  
wanted to thank him when he saw Ross's backpack. Chapter 4-Pokemon, I choose you! When Ross reached 'Professor Oak's Research Lab,' he was relieved and  
  
mortified when he saw the crowd of people waiting in line at the gate. Relived that the  
  
professor hadn't started passing out pokemon, yet, mortified that so many people would be choosing before him.  
  
Ross rode up to the gate and locked up his bike.  
  
'Man,' thought Ross as he shifted his backpack, 'this thing is getting  
  
heavy.'  
  
Ross walked toward the end of the line, counting a total of 15 other people  
  
as he went. When he reached the end, the gate opened and the line started to enter.  
  
In the front room of the lab, an elderly gentleman in a lab coat instructed  
  
each of them to pick up their beginner's kit and follow him. Ross had already identified the gentleman to be Professor Oak from his frequent trips to the pokemon center to share his breakthroughs in pokemon medicine. Ross picked up a box with his name on it and followed the man and the other new trainers through a door.  
  
In the second room of the lab, the gentleman introduced himself as  
  
Professor Oak for those that didn't know him. He sat down at a computer and started to talk with people and give them pokeballs.  
  
When it was finally Ross's turn, Professor Oak explained that the pokemon  
  
on the screen was what was available. Ross glanced down the screen.  
  
"Aw man," said Ross.  
  
"What's wrong?" asked the professor.  
  
"You don't have any Squirtles, and their my favorite," said Ross.  
  
Adjusting his backpack, he continued to say,"And most of the other cool pokemon are rare."  
  
There must be at least ONE pokemon that you want that I have," replied  
  
Professor Oak, "Just take a look, I still have 10 different choices left."  
  
Ross sighed and examined the list more closely, looking for any decent  
  
pokemon:  
  
Magikarp  
  
Rattata  
  
Caterpie  
  
Weedle  
  
Pidgey  
  
Oddish  
  
Mankey  
  
Bulbasaur  
  
Voltorb  
  
Ekans  
  
"Hmm..." said Ross thoughtfully. "None of those first five are very  
  
strong. I'm going to need a tough pokemon to start with."  
  
"Okay. That leaves Oddish, Mankey, Bulbasaur, Voltorb, and Ekans,"  
  
explained Prof. Oak.  
  
"Oddish doesn't have very good attacks, and Mankeys can be hard for  
  
beginners to handle."  
  
"Okay, we're down to three choices."  
  
"Voltorb can only learn normal attacks, and I tend to freak out over  
  
snakes, so I'll take Bulbasaur."  
  
"Very well," said Professor Oak, "Here you are." Professor Oak handed the  
  
pokeball to Ross.  
  
Just then, Squirtle popped its head out of Ross's backpack. When the  
  
professor noticed this as Ross attached his new pokeball to his belt, he said, "Why don't you put your beginner's kit into your backpack?"  
  
"Maybe while I'm waiting for my turn in the tourna-"  
  
"SQUIRTLE!" called the Squirtle in Ross's backpack.  
  
Ross jerked off his backpack to see Squirtle inside it.  
  
"What the..." begins Ross when Squirtle jumps out of the backpack and knocks him over with a big hug.  
  
"Squirtle, what are you doing here!?!" asks a bewildered Ross. Professor  
  
Oak pulled out a small, flat computer, opened it, and pushed a button.  
  
Squirtle started to talk in his own tongue and make gestures with its body. Then the flat computer in the professor's hand started to tell the story of what happened.  
  
"I was walking along the stream, looking for new sources of food when a  
  
Spearow came out of nowhere and started to attack me.  
  
"I figured that I must have gotten too close to its nest or something. So  
  
I ran away and tried to hide among the bridge supports, but the Spearow soon found me. I tried to fight off the Spearow, but it overpowered me and knocked me onto my shell. I couldn't get up, I thought I was finished.  
  
"That was when he(Ross) came and fought the Spearow. He managed to knock  
  
out the Spearow by tricking it into ramming the bridge.  
  
"I had to repay the favor. So when the human wasn't looking, I climbed  
  
into his sack.  
  
"When I heard him say how much he liked Squirtles, I could barely contain  
  
myself. I finally decided to become his pokemon and let my presence known. And here we are."  
  
Professor Oak closed the small computer and said, I guess there's no choice  
  
but to let Squirtle join you on your pokemon quest. There are some empty pokeballs in you beginner's kit."  
  
Squirtle and Ross opened the package and looked inside. Inside the box,  
  
there was a computer similar to Professor Oak's labeled POKEDEX; some potions, antidotes, and other pokemon cures; a human/pokemon first aid kit; an envelope containing some cash; a coupon book for pokemon merchandise; a couple of passes to the Safari Zone...  
  
And six pokeballs. Squirtle pulled out one of them, enlarged it, and got  
  
in. Then Ross picked up the pokeball, compressed it, and put it onto his belt.  
  
"Let's get to the tournament," said Prof. Oak.  
  
Ross grabbed the opened box and followed the professor outside and to the  
  
nearby stadium. Chapter 5-Final Preparations Inside the stadium, a pokemon battle was just ending.  
  
"It's about time that you showed up," said a snide voice.  
  
Ross turned around to face the source of the rude comment. Adam, and the  
  
local jerk, Ricky, were sitting in the stands.  
  
"I see you've started the tournament without me," Professor Oak said to a  
  
man wearing a lab coat over a referee shirt, obviously the official.  
  
"I didn't see much point in waiting," explained the man. He turned to Ross  
  
and said, "Your first match is the battle after this next one." A bell rang and Ross  
  
noticed that the battle was over. "Make that after this match," he corrected.  
  
Ross took a seat in the lower stands. Ross then checked what attacks  
  
Bulbasaur and Squirtle currently knew. They both knew their first four attacks.  
  
Ross decided to look around. There was 8 people in the lower stands for  
  
competitors, and about 30 spectators in the upper stands for family and special guests.  
  
Seven people stuck out like soar thumbs as a group on the top row.  
  
Three of them were in their 40s or 50s. One of them was a lady dressed in  
  
black, wearing sunglasses. A man next to her looked like a body builder, wearing only a pair of white shorts with a rope tied around his waist like a belt. The last of the elderly three was another male, this one was dressed as a figure of some importance, wearing a suit and cape.  
  
Ross thought that there was something familiar about this party, but he  
  
couldn't put his finger on it. A bell rang and Ross realized that the match was over. Everyone in the stands clapped.  
  
"The next match will be between Ross, on the left, and Matt, on the right,"  
  
said the official. Please .TO BE CONTINUED.  
  
PLEASE R&R.. 


	2. Act 2

Originally by Ross Jacobson, Transferred th fanfiction.net by Voyager1713  
Chapter 6-The First Battle Ross walked down to his position. He had Butterfrees in his stomach as  
  
Matt sent out a  
  
Magnemite.  
  
'Electricity is too effective against water,' thought Ross, 'so I'll use  
  
Bulbasaur!'  
  
"Bulbasaur, GO!!!" called Ross.  
  
And so began Ross's first battle.  
  
"Magnemite, tackle," ordered Matt.  
  
"Bulbasaur, leech seed," said Ross.  
  
Bulbasaur managed to seed Magnemite before being tackled. Bulbasaur lost  
  
some energy,  
  
but got all of it back from the leech seed.  
  
"Magnemite, thunder shock."  
  
"Bulbasaur, tackle."  
  
Bulbasaur charged at the Magnemite, but was shocked first. Ross's  
  
Bulbasaur tried to  
  
complete the attack, but couldn't move its legs. Bulbasaur was paralyzed!  
  
"Magnemite, tackle."  
  
"Bulbasaur, vine whip."  
  
Bulbasaur might not have been able to maneuver, but it was able to stop and  
  
catch  
  
Magnemite in its tracks. Magnemite lost more energy from the leech seed to  
  
Bulbasaur and was  
  
ready to faint.  
  
"Give it a thunder shock," yelled a desperate Matt.  
  
"Throw Magnemite away before it does!"  
  
Bulbasaur threw Magnemite with its vines and Magnemite landed with a  
  
resounding  
  
THUD. Magnemite then fainted and the bell rang.  
  
Everyone clapped and Ross walked up to congratulate Bulbasaur as Matt got  
  
Magnemite  
  
and walked off to the pokemon center.  
  
Then, seven other trainers and the official walked out. The official then  
  
said, "Let's give a  
  
hand for our first level winners." The audience clapped and the official  
  
continued, "We will be  
  
handing out prizes to our winners on their way out of the stadium. Their prize  
  
for completing this  
  
level of competition is a belt that will be able to carry all of their pokemon.  
  
Congratulations!" Chapter 7-The Qualifying Round The next four matches were announced and Ross, once again, was in the last  
  
match of the  
  
competition level.  
  
Ross carried his Bulbasaur back to his seat and began to massage the  
  
paralysis out of his  
  
legs. While he did this, he noticed that two of the seven strangers was paying  
  
close attention to  
  
what he was doing. Both were about the same age, mid-to-late 30s, The woman  
  
reminded Ross  
  
of the articles he had studied for becoming a pokemon trainer. The man sitting  
  
next to her had  
  
black hair and a rock hard face.  
  
"Pi-pi-pi, pikachu!" cheered a nearby Pikachu, wearing a fanny pack, and  
  
shaking little  
  
pom-poms.  
  
Ross turned to the battle on the field and realized what the Pikachu was  
  
doing. On the  
  
field, a Pikachu wasn't doing very well against a Geodude. One of the  
  
competitors was Ricky.  
  
"Finish it off, TACKLE!" yelled Ricky.  
  
The Geodude flew straight at its opponent. The weak Pikachu fainted on  
  
contact.  
  
The bell rang and the audience clapped, but the strangers' Pikachu seemed  
  
disappointed.  
  
It was time for Ross to battle again.  
  
"How do you feel Bulbasaur?" asked Ross.  
  
The green pokemon flexed his legs, then licked Ross. Ross laughed and put  
  
him back into  
  
his pokeball.  
  
"The next competition is between Zach on the left, and Ross on the right,"  
  
boomed the  
  
official's voice.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
"Pika, Pika, Pikachu," said the Pikachu back in the stands.  
  
"What is it buddy?" asked its trainer.  
  
"Pika, ka, pi, chu," said the Pikachu, pointing at the right side of the  
  
field.  
  
"I don't think so, Zach has that Vulpix, remember?"  
  
Pikachu opened his fanny pack, pulled out a crisp 20 dollar bill, said,  
  
"Pika, pi, chu,  
  
Pikachu," and set the money on the bench between them..  
  
Pikachu's friend pulled out his wallet and removed a bill. "Alright," said  
  
its human  
  
companion, "20 dollars say that Ross doesn't win the tournament." With that, he  
  
put his bill onto  
  
Pikachu's.  
  
Everyone asked if they could be in on the action. Pikachu motioned for  
  
them to put their  
  
money on the other two bills. Everyone bet against Ross, except for the small  
  
yellow mouse.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
"Vulpix, GO!!!" cried Zach.  
  
'Fire-type ay, time to reveal my second pokemon.' thought Ross.  
  
"Squirtle, GO!!!" said Ross  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
"You knew that Ross had a Squirtle, didn't you," said a woman on the  
  
opposite side of  
  
the Pikachu's trainer.  
  
Pikachu just nodded knowingly, knowing that only a few types of pokemon  
  
could beat  
  
Ross's.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
"Vulpix, quick attack!" said Zach.  
  
"Squirtle, water gun," requested Ross.  
  
Vulpix used its high speed to run around Squirtle a few times before going  
  
in for the  
  
attack.  
  
Unfortunately for Vulpix, it wound up tackling Squirtle's shell, hurting  
  
Vulpix and  
  
momentarily knocking Squirtle onto his stomach.  
  
Squirtle quickly got back on its feet, turned to face the dazed fox, and  
  
soaked it with a  
  
water gun. The Vulpix couldn't take much more, so Ross waited to see what Zach  
  
would do.  
  
"Get up you dumb fox, ember, NOW!!!" yelled the furious Zach. Everyone was  
  
in awe.  
  
Zach still wanted to fight, and Ross had no choice but to abide his wishes.  
  
"Squirtle, bubble," said Ross.  
  
Vulpix tried to launch an ember at Squirtle as Squirtle released bubbles at  
  
Vulpix. The  
  
ember wound up getting caught up in a bubble and fell to the floor. The rest of  
  
the bubbles  
  
popped on Vulpix, making him faint. The bell rang.  
  
"What a lousy excuse for a pokemon!" complained Zach as he stomped up to  
  
the fallen  
  
fox, grabbed it by the tails, and dragged it off to the exit.  
  
The official and 3 other trainer, including Adam and Ricky, walked out onto  
  
the battle  
  
field. "Let's hear it for our qualifying round winners. They won a TM/HM  
  
construction kit,"  
  
proclaimed the judge.  
  
After the audience's applause died down, Ricky, Ross, Squirtle, and the  
  
official walked off  
  
the field so that Adam and another trainer could battle. Chapter 8-The Mystery Thickens Ross walked Squirtle around to the side of the grandstand where he saw a  
  
faucet earlier.  
  
Ross turned on the water and Squirtle laid down under the refreshing water.  
  
Ross rubbed  
  
Squirtle's back with a soft cloth to polish the bruise on his shell from where  
  
Vulpix hit him.  
  
From this angle, Ross could se a red-headed woman holding hands with a man  
  
wearing an  
  
official Pokemon League cap. Ross also saw that there was now some money on the  
  
bench. The  
  
money wasn't the only thing that was different, but he just couldn't tell what  
  
it was.  
  
When Ross finished polishing Squirtle's shell, he turned onto his side and  
  
began to drink  
  
some water from the water from the faucet.  
  
"Pikachu," said a tiny voice.  
  
Ross looked up and saw the unusual Pikachu with the fanny pak.  
  
"Squirt!" said the Squirtle, but Ross thought that he heard it say 'help!'  
  
Ross looked down and saw his Squirtle, stuck on its back. Ross helped it  
  
onto its feet  
  
again and looked back up for the Pikachu.  
  
But it was already back by its group. Ross decided to see if his Squirtle  
  
really could talk,  
  
or if it was just in his mind.  
  
Then the bell rang. Ross looked at the Arena and saw his brother's  
  
opponent running out  
  
to pick up a fallen Squirtle and leave for the entrance. Ross also saw his  
  
brother calling a  
  
Bellsprout back into its pokeball.  
  
"The next match will be between Ricky on the left, and Ross on the right,"  
  
declared the  
  
official's voice. Ross put Squirtle into its pokeball and stepped out to.  
  
Both of the 2 competitors took their positions, and prepared to battle. Chapter 9-The Tournament Continues "Geodude, GO!!!" said Ricky.  
  
"Squirtle, GO!!!" said Ross.  
  
"Geo," said Geodude.  
  
"Squirtle," said the tiny turtle.  
  
"Defense curl."  
  
"Water gun."  
  
Geodude spun in a circle and grew another layer of rock. Squirtle let out  
  
a blast of water  
  
and reduced Geodude's strength by half.  
  
"Geodude, tackle!" ordered Ricky.  
  
"Squirtle, another water gun," said Ross.  
  
Geodude started to charge at Squirtle, but was washed away by a water gun.  
  
"Geodude, rock throw."  
  
"Squirtle, bubble."  
  
Geodude was now so weak that the rock fell half-way between Geodude who  
  
fainted on  
  
contact. The bell rang.  
  
The official and Adam came out. The official said, "Let's give another  
  
round of applause  
  
for our finalists! At the end of their match, they will both receive a set of  
  
collectors' edition  
  
pokemon dolls."  
  
The crowd let out a cheer, but underneath it all, Adam said, "Dolls!?!" Chapter 10-The Showdown This was it, the showdown between the two finalists. Remembering what  
  
happened to the  
  
last Squirtle that fought Ross's Bellsprout, Ross put Squirtle back into its  
  
pokeball and had  
  
Bulbasaur's pokeball in his hand. Adam had his pokeball in his hand.  
  
"GO!!!" called the two brothers at the same time.  
  
Both pokeball landed, opened, and let out the plant pokemon.  
  
'Plant attacks like vine whip aren't very effective on plant pokemon,'  
  
remembered Ross,  
  
'better go with tackles and growls. Leech seed will also help.'  
  
"Bellsprout, vine whip," ordered Adam. Apparently, Adam didn't know or  
  
forgot.  
  
"Bulbasaur, leech seed," said Ross.  
  
Bellsprout swung its vines up and down onto Bulbasaur's back. Bulbasaur  
  
cringed under  
  
the blow, but wasn't seriously injured. Bulbasaur managed to get a few seeds  
  
onto Bellsprout's  
  
vines as the walking flower drew back its vines.  
  
"Bellsprout, use growth!" cried Adam.  
  
"Bulbasaur, tackle."  
  
Bellsprout started to grow with power when it felt the effects of the leech  
  
seed and started  
  
to slowly lose energy to Bulbasaur. Bellsprout became even weaker when  
  
Bulbasaur tackled it.  
  
"Bellsprout, wrap," proclaimed Adam.  
  
"Bulbasaur, tackle," stated Ross.  
  
Bulbasaur made its approach, but Bellsprout was expecting this. Bellsprout  
  
wrapped its  
  
long body around Bulbasaur and started to squeeze. However, as Bellsprout  
  
weakened  
  
Bulbasaur, Bulbasaur remained strong thanks to the leech seed. So Bellsprout  
  
took most of the  
  
damage.  
  
"Bellsprout, try another vine whip!" said a now desperate Adam.  
  
Keep Bellsprout back with a growl!" said Ross.  
  
Bellsprout let go of Bulbasaur and prepared to swing a vine at Bulbasaur.  
  
But when  
  
Bulbasaur let out a fearsome growl, Bellsprout thought better of it. Then,  
  
Bellsprout lost its last  
  
ounce of strength to the leech seed, and fainted.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
The bell rang and with it, seven jaws and one small paw dropped. While the  
  
jaws didn't  
  
land on anything, the paw picked up $160, and put the money into his fanny pack.  
  
"Pi-ka-chu," said the happy little yellow mouse.  
  
"Come on," said the man in the pokemon league hat. Chapter 11-Identities Revealed After Adam and his unconscious pokemon left for the prize table and exit.  
  
Ross put  
  
Bulbasaur back into his pokeball when the official stepped out. He said,  
  
"Congratulations, you  
  
have won our little tournament. Your opponent has already claimed his last  
  
prize, and I must say  
  
that that last battle was one of the most impressive battled we have ever had  
  
here. Now for your  
  
final prize, and to present it, we are once again honored to have the Elite  
  
Masters of the Pokemon  
  
League!"  
  
Ross's jaw dropped as he saw the seven people and Pikachu from the darkened  
  
corner  
  
stand up and walk down the stairs to the field. In a matter of moments, the  
  
world's greatest  
  
trainers, breeder, and pokemon were standing right in front of him.  
  
Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Togepi, Brock, Suzie, Lance, Bruno, and Lorelei, all  
  
of them were  
  
right there in front of him.  
  
Ash handed Ross a box and said, "This box contains your prizes for winning  
  
the  
  
tournament. A great ball, an official pokemon league hat, a pokemon that  
  
Professor Oak has  
  
never been able to offer, a fishing rod, and the beginner's badge. The  
  
beginner's badge is a sign  
  
of a great trainer. It will also increase your pokemon's health.  
  
Congratulations, and now I'm  
  
afraid that we must get back to Indigo Plateau."  
  
"Thanks," said Ross to the figures as they left. Ross walked to the stands  
  
and opened the  
  
box. He looked inside and pulled out a small piece of metal formed into for  
  
letters, PKMN.  
  
Ross pinned it onto the inside of his coat, put on the red and white hat, and  
  
put the occupied  
  
pokeball onto his belt before heading over to the prize table to claim the rest  
  
of his prizes.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
"That was fun," said Misty. Everyone agreed.  
  
"Those last 2 matches were among the toughest that I have ever seen for  
  
beginning  
  
trainers," commented Brock.  
  
"No kidding," said Ash.  
  
"Pika," agreed the small mouse.  
  
"Maybe we should keep an eye on those trainers," suggested Brock.  
  
"Good idea," confirmed Ash. Chapter 12-Goodies & New Rivals Ross walked up to the table and asked for the rest of his prizes. Ross put  
  
on his new  
  
pokemon belt, packed his TM/HM kit and box of pokedolls, and walked out to his  
  
bike.  
  
Ross rode over the bridge where he found the Squirtle, hoping that the  
  
Spearow was still stuck  
  
in the bridge, but all that was left to indicate that the Spearow was ever even  
  
stuck was several  
  
holes and scratches. Ross just shrugged it off and continued on his way to the  
  
pokemon center.  
  
"Hi Nurse Joy," said a cheerful Ross. After all, why shouldn't he? He won  
  
the  
  
tournament, got everything he would need packed into his backpack, and  
  
everything that he might  
  
need later in his journey deposited in his computer. All he had to do was take  
  
care of some  
  
business at the pokemon center and he was on his way.  
  
"Hello Ross, I heard that you won the opening tournament," asked Joy.  
  
"Yep, I just need my pokemon healed and my paycheck, then I'm on my way,"  
  
replied Ross.  
  
"Okay, you know the drill, oh, and your brother and Ricky are still here."  
  
"Cool,"said Ross as he turned in his 3 pokemon, realizing that he still  
  
hadn't found out  
  
what pokemon that the Elite Masters gave him. Ross walked over to where Adam  
  
and Ricky  
  
were talking. However, they stopped talking when they realized Ross was coming.  
  
"Hey guys," said Ross.  
  
No response. "How's it going?" asked Ross.  
  
Still no response. "So, Adam, what do you plan to do with your pokedoll  
  
prize?"  
  
"Nothing, I threw them into that trash can over there," replied Adam.  
  
"Number 13, you pokemon are ready," announced Joy.  
  
Ricky tapped Adam and said, "That's us."  
  
"Oh, you're going on your journey together?" asked Ross.  
  
"Yeah, and someday, we're gonna make you pay for the humiliation that you  
  
made us  
  
suffer today!" said Ricky.  
  
"You bet," added Adam.  
  
They stomped up to the front desk, snatched their pokeballs, and stormed  
  
out the front  
  
door.  
  
'They're probably just blowing off steam,' thought Ross, 'But I can't  
  
believe Adam would  
  
just throw away those pokedolls.'  
  
Ross walked up to the trash can Adam indicated and pulled out a box with a  
  
picture of  
  
some stuffed pokemon. He opened the box, and he saw four smaller boxes with a  
  
clear plastic  
  
window. Ross removed one of the boxes and saw a stuffed Charmander through the  
  
window. He  
  
smiled at the stitched-on grin.  
  
"Cute Charmander," said a voice behind Ross.  
  
Ross jumped what seemed like 10 feet. When he landed, he spun around and  
  
saw Joy.  
  
"Sorry," Nurse Joy apologized, "Your pokemon are all fine. If you just  
  
wait a little bit  
  
longer, I'll go get your pay," With that, Joy took off for the backroom.  
  
Ross put the Charmander and other boxed dolls back into the box. He walked  
  
to the  
  
computer for trainers and turned it on.  
  
"Use pokedex verbal ID to access accounts," explained the computer.  
  
Ross pulled out his pokedex, turned it on, and placed his finger on the ID  
  
pad.  
  
"I'm Dexter, a pokedex programed by Professor Oak for Ross Jacobsen of the  
  
town of  
  
Pallet. If lost or stollen, I cannot be replaced or used by anyone else," said  
  
the pokedex.  
  
The computer screen changed and a menu popped up;  
  
Pokemon storage  
  
Item storage  
  
Shutdown  
  
Ross chose item storage and deposited the TM/HM kit, the Safari Zone  
  
passes, and his 2  
  
boxes of pokedolls. After thinking for a little while, Ross had his bicycle  
  
transported too so that  
  
Ross would be able to pay more attention to his surroundings for pokemon.  
  
Then Ross walked over to the poster of badges. He saw the 21 badges  
  
required to enter  
  
the Pokemon Legue, along with the one that Ross had.  
  
Ross heard footsteps and turned around to see Nurse Joy with an envelope  
  
and said,  
  
"Here's your wages, $5000," Joy handed the envelope and said, "Also that stuffed  
  
Charmander  
  
reminded me of something that I need to talk to you about before you leave. Do  
  
you remember  
  
that Charmander that was left here a couple of weeks ago?"  
  
"Yes," said Ross, "it was really neat."  
  
"Well, I'm afraid that its trainer showed up in Lavender Town. He  
  
abandoned Charmander."  
  
"What!?!" exclaimed a shocked Ross.  
  
"I'm afraid so. Now I've gotta find a new home for Charmander," explained  
  
Nurse Joy,  
  
"I believe that that home is with you."  
  
Just then, a red lizard with a flaming tail, hopped out from behind the  
  
desk, landed on the  
  
counter, and said, "Charmander!"  
  
"You mean that you're giving me Charmander!?!" inquired Ross.  
  
"Yes," said Nurse Joy, "If you really want each other."  
  
Charmander hopped off of the counter, landed in front of Ross, and big,  
  
wide eyes, asked,  
  
"Char?"  
  
There was no way that Ross, could turn Charmander down. Ross checked what  
  
attacks  
  
Charmander knew, pulled out an empty pokeball, enlarged it, and set it down in  
  
front of  
  
Charmander. "Charmander is more than welcome to come along," said Ross.  
  
A smile appeared on Charmander's face. Charmander then opened the pokeball  
  
and willingly  
  
hopped in. The pokeball closed and Ross picked up his now full pokeball.  
  
Then a mysterious smoke filled the main room. It was near impossible to  
  
see anything with the  
  
fog. Ross compressed Charmander's pokeball and set it into his belt.  
  
The smoke started to dissipate and 2 mysterious figures started to become  
  
visible. The 2  
  
figures started to speak in turns. Chapter 13-Team Rocket "To protect the world from devastation," said a female voice.  
  
"To unite all people within our nation," said a male voice.  
  
"Better go start up the emergency transport system, I'll slow these guys  
  
down," Ross  
  
whispered to Joy.  
  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love," said the female.  
  
"To extend our reach to the stars above," said the male.  
  
Joy nodded in agreement and snuck through the back door while the strangers  
  
continued  
  
their poem.  
  
"Bonnie," said the woman's voice again.  
  
"Clyde," said the male voice again.  
  
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light," said the female. She was  
  
in clear sight now.  
  
She had blond hair, wore a white skirt, white shirt over black with a red "R" on  
  
her shirt.  
  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" said the male. He had dark brown  
  
hair, a similar shirt,  
  
and a pair of white pants.  
  
"Meowth, that's right!" said a cat pokemon.  
  
"A talking pokemon, that's impossible!" proclaimed Ross.  
  
"Nothing is impossible to a pokemon that tries hard enough," explained the  
  
Meowth.  
  
"Hand over your pokemon kid," ordered Clyde.  
  
"No way!" denied Ross.  
  
"That wasn't a request kid," said Bonnie, "Lickitung, GO!!!"  
  
"Weepinbell, GO!!!" said Clyde.  
  
"Meowth, get out there," said Bonnie.  
  
"Meowth!" proclaimed Meowth as he ran out to join the other pokemon.  
  
"Give it up brat. We have you outnumbered, 5 to 1!" claimed Clyde.  
  
"Guess again, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, mystery pokemon, GO!!!"  
  
called Ross as  
  
he threw four pokeballs out.  
  
Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander all formed quickly with practiced ease.  
  
The forth  
  
ball of red energy bounced around the lobby and stopped next to Ross's other  
  
three pokemon.  
  
The fourth pokemon stood on its hind two feet, opened its eyes, and said, "Mew."  
  
Bonnie's, Clyde's, and Meowth's jaws all fell upon the sight of the small,  
  
white, psychic  
  
cat.  
  
"It's a rare Mew! We gotta steal it. Focus all attacks on Mew," said  
  
Bonnie, "Lickitung,  
  
stomp."  
  
"Weepinbell, vine whip."  
  
"Charmander, Mew, ember & psychic to Weepinbell. Squirtle, water gun  
  
Meowth,  
  
Bulbasaur, vine whip Lickitung."  
  
Meowth tried to bite at Mew, but Squirtle sprayed water into Meowth's  
  
gaping mouth.  
  
Bulbasaur tangled Lickitung's legs up with its vines. Weepinbell was seriously  
  
hit by both of the  
  
attacks aimed at it.  
  
Now, Weepinbell was burned, Meowth was naucious from drinking too much  
  
water, and  
  
Lickitung was getting tied up by Bulbasaur.  
  
"Lickitung, break free of the vines," called Bonnie.  
  
"Weepinbell, wrap Mew," ordered Clyde.  
  
"Charmander, finish off Weepinbell with scratch. Mew, transform into  
  
Lickitung.  
  
Bulbasaur, Squirtle, tackle Meowth in that order!" called out Ross.  
  
Weepinbell extended its vines to try to wrap Mew, but Charmander scratched  
  
Weepinbell's vines, making Weepinbell faint. Meowth charged up after Mew, claws  
  
ready for  
  
fury swipes, when Bulbasaur hit Meowth over towards Squirtle. Squirtle charged  
  
at the Meowth,  
  
hitting him in the gut. Lickitung managed to escape the vines and Mew turned  
  
into a mirror  
  
image of Lickitung.  
  
Now, Weepinbell couldn't fight, Meowth barfed onto the genuine Lickitung,  
  
temporarily  
  
blinding him, and all of Ross's pokemon were in great shape.  
  
"Weepinbell, return," said Clyde, "I'm out."  
  
"Lickitung, disable," ordered Bonnie.  
  
"Squirtle, trap Meowth in a bubble. Mew, Slam Lickitung," ordered Ross.  
  
Meowth was so out of it, that when it was trapped in the bubble, it got  
  
scared and fainted.  
  
Lickitung managed to use disable to Charmander before it was slammed by the fake  
  
Lickitung.  
  
Clyde ran over to pick up the fallen Meowth as Bonnie's Lickitung tried to  
  
fight off four  
  
attackers at once.  
  
"Lickitung, wrap the fake Lickitung," hollered Bonnie.  
  
"Everyone, stand in front of Mew and scare Lickitung off with growls."  
  
Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle stood in between the two Lickitungs,  
  
facing the  
  
original in a wall formation. Bulbasaur and Charmander let out threatening  
  
growls while Squirtle  
  
did his best to look ferocious. Lickitung hesitated, and then wrapped its  
  
tongue around  
  
Charmander, keeping his tail separate.  
  
"Lickitung, squeeze tighter!" ordered Bonnie as a helpless Clyde tried to  
  
open the back  
  
door.  
  
"Charmander, burn Lickitung's tongue with your flame tail!" cried a  
  
desperate Ross.  
  
Lickitung tried to squeeze Charmander, but was having difficulty standing  
  
the pain of the  
  
fire. Now Clyde was trying to break into the back room by slamming himself into  
  
the door.  
  
"Bulbasaur, Squirtle, stop Clyde from getting to the other pokemon! Mew,  
  
help  
  
Charmander escape by wrapping Lickitung!"  
  
Squirtle and Bulbasaur ran over to Clyde, not absolutely positive as of  
  
what to do.  
  
Squirtle used water gun on the floor in front of the back door. Clyde tried to  
  
charge the door  
  
again, unaware of what Squirtle did. Clyde slipped on the wet floor, basically  
  
head butted the  
  
door, and lost consciousness. Bulbasaur used its vines to tie up Clyde and he  
  
was captured.  
  
Meanwhile, Mew had wrapped Lickitung, who was still having difficulty  
  
holding  
  
Charmander with his flaming tail. Finally, Lickitung dropped Charmander as he  
  
faded out of  
  
consciousness.  
  
Sirens began to sing, as they came closer.  
  
"Gyah!" cried Bonnie, "The police! Lickitung, return."  
  
Bonnie started to make a get away. "Mew, WRAP BONNIE!!!" ordered Ross.  
  
The Mew/Lickitung extended its long tongue and wrapped it around Bonnie.  
  
"Put me  
  
down. This is incredibly disgusting," commented Bonnie.  
  
Bulbasaur and Squirtle walked back, with an unconscious and tied-up Clyde  
  
carried into  
  
the lobby.  
  
Officer Jenny and about 12 other cops came in through the front door.  
  
"Looks like the calvary finally showed up," joked Ross Chapter 14-Time To Hit The Road Joy walked out of the back room and said hello to the police.  
  
"Well, it looks like this boy had everything under control," commented Jenny, "Thanks for  
  
catching this squad of Team Rocket."  
  
"It's not that big of a deal," claimed Ross.  
  
"Could you please come down to the station," asked Jenny, " We'll need you to fill out a  
  
report." A pair of officers arrested each of the two trainers.  
  
"But isn't there usually a boy, a girl, and a talking Meowth?" asked one of the policemen.  
  
Everyone looked around, but the Meowth was nowhere to be found.  
  
Ross, Joy, Jenny, the human members of Team Rocket, and the rest of the police force drove  
  
down to the station. Ross and Joy filled out the reports as Jenny had Bonnie and Clyde stripped  
  
of their pokemon and placed into a jail cell.  
  
"I suggest that you be careful," said Jenny, "Meowth will probably tell the rest of Team  
  
Rocket about your pokemon's strength."  
  
"Okay," agreed Ross.  
  
"One more thing," said Jenny, "there was a reward posted for the capture of Team Rocket  
  
squads, $3000. So here you are." Jenny handed Ross a bulky envelope.  
  
"Thanks, I better get going if I'm gonna get to Viridian by night fall," said Ross.  
  
"Say hi to my cousin when you get to the pokemon center there," requested Joy.  
  
"All right, bye," said Ross as he walked out of the police station.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
Back at Indigo Plateau, Ash was in his pokemon training room, keeping his pokemon in  
  
shape, when a figure carrying a clipboard burst into the room.  
  
"Master Ash!" proclaimed the figure.  
  
"Yes Lance?" asked Ash.  
  
"I just got the preliminary reports on those three trainers you wanted," explained Lance.  
  
"What do they say?" asked Ash.  
  
"Apparently, Ross and Adam are brothers that both got perfect scores on the PTE. Adam has  
  
teamed up with Ricky, who got 99% on his PTE. They've already left for Viridian via Route 1."  
  
"Let me know when they arrive," requested Ash, "And what about Ross?"  
  
"Ross worked at the pokemon center in Pallet Town for a year instead of starting his pokemon  
  
journey when he turned 10. Ross also received an abandoned Charmander from Nurse Joy and  
  
beat a squad of Team Rocket before leaving town."  
  
Ash looked shocked at this news. "Which squad?" he asked demandingly.  
  
Lance checked his papers and said, "Bonnie and Clyde. They've been arrested and stripped of  
  
their trainers' licenses and pokemon. However, their Meowth escaped before the police arrived."  
  
"What is the scheduled result for the pokemon?" asked Ash.  
  
Again, Lance checks the papers. "Devolution and distribution to beginning trainers. Here are  
  
the reports for any more details you might want," explained Lance as he set the clipboard down.  
  
"Thank you," Ash said as Lance left the room.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
Ross walked down the road to Viridian. When passing a stream, he came up with an idea.  
  
Ross remembered a theory paper he once read that pokemon with a good relationship with their  
  
trainers were stronger than those that don't. Ross called out all of his pokemon,  
  
"Hello guys, I have an offer to make to all of you," explained Ross, "If you don't mind walking  
  
unless I offer you a ride, you're all more than welcome to stay out of your pokeballs when its safe  
  
if you promise not to run away."  
  
All of Ross's pokemon looked pleased with this. Squirtle, Charmander, and Mew all put their  
  
right paw on their heart and raised their left paw into the air. Bulbasaur just bowed because he  
  
couldn't support himself on his hind legs. Then all of them started to talk in their own tongue,  
  
but Ross thought that he heard them all in a single voice say, "I promise not to run away and to  
  
return to my pokeball if it is required by Ross."  
  
Ross wondered what was going on. "Would you mind saying something else?" asked Ross.  
  
All of his pokemon looked at each other, then Ross, and said, "Something else."  
  
"Great," said Ross aloud, "Not only am I hearing my pokemon talk in English, they all have  
  
lousy jokes!"  
  
Mew walked up to Ross and asked, "Mew mew Mew?"  
  
Ross heard him ask, "Can you understand us?"  
  
"I think so," said Ross.  
  
Then Squirtle walked up to Ross, pulled Ross's pokedex out of his pocket, and asked Ross to  
  
grant him access.  
  
Ross turned on the pokedex, signed in with his fingerprint, and Squirtle began to search  
  
through the small computer's database.  
  
Ross sat down killed some time by doing some fishing in the stream. About ten minutes later,  
  
Ross thought that he heard his Squirtle say, "Read this," as he held up the tiny computer.  
  
Ross took the pokedex from Squirtle's hand and saw an article on the screen. He read;  
  
"Some people have demonstrated the ability to understand their pokemon and  
  
identical wild species. They have also shown the ability to use some TMs on themselves,  
  
learn maneuvers from their pokemon, communicate psychic and ghost pokemon without  
  
verbal communication. Most of these people however do not turn out to be pokemon  
  
trainers, so they might not ever know of their skills. Professor Oak's current main project  
  
is to develop a translator from a pokedex, however, Professor Oak has only been able to  
  
translate 3 pokemon languages, Squirtle, Pikachu, and Meowth. He is currently trying to  
  
locate anyone with the above abilities."  
  
"This explains why I can understand you and not the pokemon I treated at the pokemon  
  
center," said Ross.  
  
"Yes," proclaimed all of Ross's pokemon.  
  
All of the sudden, Ross's line snagged. "WOAH!" exclaimed Ross, "This feels like a real  
  
strong one. YIKES!" Ross was sliding down towards the water  
  
Mew, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander all grabbed Ross in a chain formation and tried  
  
to prevent him from falling into the stream. Unfortunately, Ross was still sliding into the water.  
  
Ross got an idea, he yelled, "Pokedex, Machamp!"  
  
The small pokedex flashed to life and showed a Machamp on the screen. Mew looked at the  
  
screen and saw the muscular looking pokemon.  
  
"Mew, transform!" proclaimed Ross as his sneakers started to enter the water.  
  
Mew turned white and grew larger with a second pair of arms. When the white light  
  
faded, a Machamp, just like the one in the picture, stood where Mew was. Mew/Machamp pulled  
  
Ross out of the water, straining on the line, until the powerful aquatic pokemon was removed  
  
from its watery habitat.  
  
An orange star with five points and a red core floated over the water. "A Staryu!" exclaimed  
  
Ross, "Bulbasaur, GO! Vine whip!"  
  
Bulbasaur swung his vines at the starfish, seriously injuring it. Staryu began to tackle at  
  
Bulbasaur, trying to fight back. Staryu connected and knocked back Bulbasaur.  
  
"Bulbasaur, tackle," instructed Ross  
  
Staryu tried to use water gun on Bulbasaur, but wound up being tackled. Staryu hit a tree,  
  
and fell down to the roots. "Pokeball, GO!" said Ross as he threw a pokeball at Staryu.  
  
The pokeball shook once, twice, three times, and the struggle indicator light on the pokeball  
  
went out.  
  
"Yes, we caught Staryu!" shouted Ross.  
  
All of the pokemon were also glad to have a new companion. "How do you feel Bulbasaur?"  
  
asked Ross.  
  
"I'm fine," said Bulbasaur.  
  
The party continued down the road when Squirtle stopped in his tracks, and turned as white as  
  
a sheet. "You alright Squirtle?" asked a bewildered Charmander.  
  
Ross raised his head to look at the horizon, and realized what was wrong. An enormous  
  
sound was approaching. It sounded like several wings beating up and down.  
  
"It's the Spearow! RUN!!!" exclaimed Ross.  
  
The party took off, tearing down the road. Squirtle in the lead, followed by Charmander, then  
  
Bulbasaur, and finally, Mew and Ross. Ross picked Mew up and said something to his pokedex.  
  
Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander knew that they wouldn't be able to outrun the Spearow  
  
forever. Squirtle prepared himself for the painful experience about 25 times over. Bulbasaur  
  
knew that flying had the advantage over him. Charmander just didn't want to face all of those  
  
enemies.  
  
Suddenly, Bulbasaur felt like he was flying. "WOAH!" hollered a surprised Bulbasaur.  
  
Charmander turned around, only to also be scooped up. Squirtle kept running as fast as he could,  
  
desperate to escape the flock of fearsome Spearow. Then, Squirtle tripped. He thought that he  
  
was a goner as he closed his eyes, awaiting the first of what was certain to be a slaughter.  
  
When Squirtle opened his eyes, he saw Ross, Bulbasaur, and Charmander, riding a 3-headed  
  
bird. Squirtle looked back and noticed that only 5 Spearow remained chasing them. "Look out!"  
  
hollered Ross.  
  
Squirtle turned around to see a Pidgey, Rattata, and a Pikachu, sitting right in the way. "Mew,  
  
pick up all of the pokemon with your three heads," ordered Ross. All of the three heads lowered,  
  
each aimed at a different pokemon. Squirtle realized that Ross must have had Mew turn into  
  
Dodrio, one of the fastest pokemon known to exist. When the three wild pokemon were close  
  
enough, all three of the heads rose, picking up all of them.  
  
Pikachu wasn't too happy about the intrusion, and started to charge up for an electric attack.  
  
But when the Pidgey and Rattata pointed out the five angry Spearow, chasing all of them,  
  
Pikachu relaxed and tried to become as aerodynamic as possible.  
  
It was starting to get late, about 4 o'clock, and 3 Spearow was still following them.  
  
Unfortunately, Mew/Dodrio was starting to get tired and the Spearow were gaining on them!  
  
The lights in Viridian came into view. If their ride could just last a little bit longer.  
  
Finally, Dodrio turned white and shrank right underneath everyone. Mew hade reverted  
  
to its natural form and fainted.  
  
"Mew, return," ordered Ross as he held up Mew's pokeball.  
  
Mew turned into a red beam of light and went into the pokeball.  
  
"Charmander, Bulbasaur, Staryu, Squirtle, GO!!!"  
  
The three pokemon that had been riding on Mew stood ready to fight as Staryu left his  
  
pokeball to join them.  
  
The Spearow saw their adversaries, formed a V-shape, and began the battle.  
  
"Squirtle, Staryu, water gun together. Bulbasaur, tackle. Then Charmander, scratch the same  
  
Spearow!"  
  
The two water pokemon sprayed water at one Spearow while Bulbasaur and Charmander  
  
attacked another. Ross was wondering where the 3rd Spearow was when he saw it coming from  
  
his right.  
  
Ross dived out of the way as Spearow missed. "Keep fighting together!" ordered Ross, "I'll  
  
handle this chump."  
  
"Spear-row!" yelled the bird as he came around for another pass. Ross realized that the  
  
Spearow attacking him was the same one that he fought off earlier that day.  
  
As Ross and his pokemon fought off the angry Spearow, Pidgey and Rattata ran for the safety  
  
of tall grass while the wild Pikachu just watched, amazed at how strong Ross and his pokemon  
  
were.  
  
"Spea-row," said the Spearow fighting Charmander and Bulbasaur. Then it fainted.  
  
Charmander and Bulbasaur were heading over to help Ross, but he told them to help their watery  
  
companions.  
  
Charmander and Bulbasaur looked over at Staryu and Squirtle and noticed that they weren't  
  
fairing as well as they did and rushed over to help. Ross swung a fist at Spearow, trying to fend it  
  
off. Spearow easily dodged Ross's attack and slapped him with its wings.  
  
Ross shook off the pain and turned to face his attacker. Spearow was getting ready to  
  
start pecking Ross when a high pitched voice said,"Pi-ka-CHU!"  
  
Spearow fell out of the sky, paralyzed. Ross turned to see only the small Pikachu with after  
  
sparks on his cheeks. Ross took out a couple of pokeballs and threw one at each of the fainted  
  
Spearow. They both shook three times and sealed.  
  
The last Spearow, greatly outnumbered, made a run for it, flying back for Pallet Town. All of  
  
Ross's pokemon looked exhausted. Ross picked up the two now full pokeballs and put all of his  
  
pokemon back into their respective pokeballs. Ross looked at the cute little electric mouse as he  
  
started talking, pulled out his pokedex, and selected the Pikachu translation program.  
  
"I was most impressed at how strong your pokemon are, I was wondering if I could come  
  
along with you."  
  
Ross checked his pocket for another pokeball and found his last one and the great ball. Ross  
  
set it down for Pikachu to get in. The Pikachu walked up to the pokeball and got in. Ross picked  
  
up the pokeball containing his eighth pokemon, attached it to his belt, and jogged the last 500  
  
yards to Viridian City Chapter 15-Viridian City! Ross staggered into town and asked the first person he saw where the pokemon center was.  
  
The citizen pointed to a road and said that it was just down it.  
  
Ross walked a couple of blocks until he saw a large building. He walked in and up to the front  
  
desk.  
  
"Hi Joy," said Ross.  
  
"Hi Ross," said Nurse Joy, "I was wondering when you would show up."  
  
"It's a long story," replied Ross, "Here's my pokemon,"  
  
"Your number is 16, your brother made it here just fine, the trainer's buffet is over there, "  
  
explained Joy, pointing at a long table with all sorts of food on it.  
  
"Great, I'm famished," proclaimed Ross.  
  
Ross walked over to the table, grabbed a paper plate, loaded it up with food, and sat  
  
down on a bench to eat.  
  
As Ross was munching on a piece of chicken, he overheard a pair of voices talking.  
  
"I can't believe that I spent an entire day in the field, and couldn't find a single Spearow!"  
  
complained the first voice.  
  
"Too bad," said the second voice, "Maybe you can trade for one."  
  
"Good idea," said the first voice, "What should I trade?"  
  
"Maybe your Machop? Or your Grimer?"  
  
"Number 16, your pokemon are ready," announced Joy.  
  
Ross walked up to the counter and got his pokemon. 'I probably oughta go do some  
  
shopping,' thought Ross.  
  
Ross got his coupon book from the computer, grabbed a street map, and walked towards the  
  
door when he was stopped by two trainers.  
  
"Do you have a Spearow?" asked one of the trainers.  
  
"Yes," said Ross.  
  
"Want to trade it for a Machop?" asked the same trainer.  
  
'Sounds good,' thought Ross, 'It would come in handy when I get to the rock gym of  
  
Stone Town.'  
  
"Sure," agreed Ross.  
  
They walked to a huge computer and put each put a pokeball in a little holder. The other  
  
trainer pushed a button and the computer picked up the pokeballs. Some information flashed  
  
across the screen, and the computer set the pokeballs into the other one's opening.  
  
Ross picked up the pokeball in front of him and attached it to his belt. Ross and the  
  
other trainer thanked each other and Ross walked out of the pokemon center to do some  
  
shopping.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
"Do you REALLY think that you should have traded away your Machop?" asked the  
  
boy's companion, who was named Nick.  
  
"I didn't, I traded away that loser Magikarp," explained the boy that traded with Ross, who  
  
was named Mike.  
  
"But I thought that Magikarp was in THIS pokeball," said Nick, pointing to a pokeball on  
  
Mike's belt.  
  
The boy looked at the pokeball and realized that his friend was right. He had gotten his  
  
pokemon mixed-up and didn't trade Machop or Magikarp.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
Ross walked out of the pokemon center, glad to have gotten rid of the Spearow that hated  
  
him so much and gotten a new pokemon.  
  
"Hey loser." said a nearby voice. Ross turned and saw Adam and Ricky waiting in line to  
  
use a telephone.  
  
"I challenge you to a battle," said Adam, "3 on 3."  
  
"Agreed," said Ross.  
  
"I'll start with Pidgey," said Adam, dropping a pokeball.  
  
"Then I'll choose Pikachu, GO!!!" called Ross, also dropping a pokeball. Chapter 16-Battle of Viridian The small bird pokemon appeared as well as Ross's Pikachu.  
  
"Pidgey, gust," ordered Adam.  
  
"Pikachu, thunder shock," said Ross.  
  
The small bird started to beat its wings fiercely to try to blow Pikachu off of his feet.  
  
Pikachu wasn't affected and released a bolt of electricity at Pidgey. Pidgey was seriously hurt and  
  
fell out of the sky.  
  
"Pidgey, return, Diglett, GO!!! Dig attack," said Adam.  
  
"Pikachu, hop onto that wall," said Ross.  
  
"What do you think that will accomplish?" asked Ricky.  
  
Pikachu climbed the decorative wall as ordered to, and waited for Ross's next command.  
  
Diglett dug the hole and went after Pikachu from underground.  
  
"Oh-no! Diglett, stop!" hollered Adam.  
  
"Relax for a while Pikachu," Ross said calmly.  
  
Unfortunately for Diglett, he couldn't hear Adam from underground. Diglett wound up  
  
trying to emerge under the wall and wound up with a serious headache.  
  
"Diglett, scratch," said Adam.  
  
"Pikachu, quick attack," said Ross  
  
Diglett tried to scratch Pikachu but missed the quick Pikachu. Pikachu ran around to the  
  
opposite side of Diglett and crushed him between Pikachu's body, and the wall. Diglett wound  
  
up fainting from that blow.  
  
"Diglett, return. Bellsprout, GO!!! Sleep powder," ordered Adam.  
  
"Pikachu, thunder shock," said Ross.  
  
Pikachu started to charge up for his thunder shock, but was dusted by Bellsprout's powder.  
  
Pikachu began to snore loudly.  
  
"Pikachu, return, Charmander, I choose you, ember!" said Ross  
  
"Bellsprout, growth," said Adam.  
  
Bellsprout started to grow when Charmander launched a small ball of fire onto  
  
Bellsprout's head, burning Bellsprout in the process.  
  
"Bellsprout, wrap!" ordered Adam.  
  
"Charmander, scratch at Bellsprout's burn," stated Ross.  
  
Bellsprout extended its vines to wrap around Charmander, but wound up wrapping  
  
Charmander's tail flame, burning itself. Charmander scratched at Bellsprout's head, nearly  
  
decapitating it.  
  
"Bellsprout, return," said Adam, "Here's your winnings you cheat." Adam threw some  
  
money onto the ground and walked into the pokemon center. Chapter 17-Shopping Spree in Viridian Ross picked up his winnings, about $500, and looked at the street map he got from the  
  
pokemon center. He knew that the local gym was closed until a new gym leader was chosen.  
  
Ross also noticed a mall marked on the map only about 3 blocks away.  
  
Ross walked the short distance and walked to the mall directory. He saw five stores that he  
  
wanted to visit: a pokemart, a food store, a outdoor store, a pokemon pet store, and a pharmacy.  
  
Ross walked down to the first store, the pokemart. He walked around, picking up 12  
  
pokeballs, a revive, and a couple doses of repel. "That will be $2500," said the cashier. Ross paid  
  
the cashier and picked up his sack of purchases.  
  
The next store Ross visited was the outdoor store. Overjoyed that they were having a sale,  
  
Ross bought an inflatable pillow, a new flashlight, some extra batteries, a battery powered alarm  
  
clock that can both buzz and vibrate, a shovel for digging up evolution stones, a tent, and a thick  
  
sleeping bag. Ross paid only $1000 for his supplies.  
  
Ross walked down the length of the mall to the pharmacy and got some more medical supplies  
  
for himself and his pokemon.  
  
Next door, Ross bought some of his favorite snacks, meals, and pokemon food. Ross walked  
  
down to the last store he wanted to visit, the pokemon pet shop. Inside, Ross saw Eevees,  
  
Growlithes, Ekans, and Porygon in different bins. In the back of the shop, several tanks of water  
  
pokemon swam around.  
  
Ross looked at each of the different pokemon, admiring all of them for their own unique  
  
beauty. He especially liked the Growlithes. Ross was kneeling over to pet one when he  
  
heard a harsh voice from the entrance.  
  
"HOLD IT!" Chapter 18-Return Of The Rockets Ross looked up and saw an oriental man and woman, dressed like Bonnie and Clyde with a  
  
Meowth. They were holding rifles and wearing backpacks full of pokeballs.  
  
"To protect the world from devastation," said the female.  
  
"To unite all people within our nation," said the male.  
  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love," said the female.  
  
"To extend our reach to the stars above," said the male.  
  
"Lee," said the woman again.  
  
"Christian," said the man again.  
  
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light," said the female.  
  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" said the male.  
  
"Meowth, that's right!"  
  
"This is a stick-up," claimed Christian.  
  
"We're here for your pokemon and cash!" stated Lee.  
  
Since Ross was having difficulty seeing Team Rocket and neither of them had a riffle aimed at  
  
him, Ross figured that he hadn't been spotted yet. As Christian was emptying the register while  
  
Meowth and Lee gathered up the pokemon, Ross snuck around to the owner of the store, untied  
  
him, and snuck both of them into the storage room.  
  
"Thanks," said the grateful man.  
  
"Don't thank me yet, I've still got to save your store," said Ross, "Do you happen to have a  
  
Magnemite?"  
  
"Just one," said the man. He pulled down a carrier, opened it, and removed a Magnemite.  
  
Ross explained his plan to the Magnemite and the owner of the store. Ross took the  
  
Magnemite and a key from the owner of the store.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
Ross peeked out the door. Seeing Christian leave the counter to help his companions with a  
  
reluctant Eevee, Ross snuck out of the back room, leaving the owner in the back room. Ross  
  
worked his way to the entrance where no one had walked by in a while. Ross had Magnemite  
  
attract the metal gate down with its electrical forces.  
  
CLANG!  
  
"What was that?" asked Lee.  
  
Ross closed the gate the rest of the way and locked it down with the key he had gotten from  
  
the owner.  
  
"I don't know," said Christian, "Meowth, go check the entrance."  
  
Ross realized that his plan would crash if Team Rocket found the key. Ross hid the key on the  
  
underside of a shelf and hid on the opposite side of a bin of Porygon. Meowth reached the gate  
  
and saw that it was closed.  
  
Meowth promptly ran back to his human companions and whispered something to them. Ross  
  
then heard two pokemon call out.  
  
"ZU-BAT!"  
  
"DEW-GONG!"  
  
"Spread out and find the trouble maker," ordered Lee.  
  
A Zubat flew up and started to fly around the store as the humans of Team Rocket ducked  
  
down out of sight.  
  
'Time for phase 2,' thought Ross.  
  
"Just as we planned," Ross whispered to Magnemite.  
  
Magnemite silently floated off to do its task. A few moments later, Lee spoke out.  
  
"My gun is gone!" proclaimed Lee.  
  
"Mine too!" added Christian.  
  
"Quiet!" hissed Meowth.  
  
Ross smiled as Magnemite floated off to the back room's door. It opened, let Magnemite in,  
  
and closed again.  
  
'Time for phase 3,' thought Ross.  
  
Just then, a bat cried out, "ZU!!!"  
  
"Pikachu, Machop, Staryu, GO!!!" ordered Ross as he dropped 3 pokeballs.  
  
Pikachu and Staryu came out of their pokeballs, ready to fight. Then another pokemon came  
  
out of the third pokeball, but it certainly wasn't a Machop. It was too tall and had boxing gloves  
  
for fists.  
  
"Pika!"  
  
"Hi-Yu!"  
  
"Mon-Chan," said the tall, lean pokemon. Chapter 19-Blast off to Revenge "Meowth, that's him! That's the kid with the Mew...and a Hitmonchan!?!" exclaimed Meowth.  
  
"We gotta steal it," hollered Lee, "Everyone, attack Hitmonchan, Dewgong, head butt!"  
  
"Zubat, BITE!"  
  
"Staryu, tackle Meowth, Hitmonchan, fire punch Dewgong, Pikachu, thunder shock Zubat!"  
  
Ross ordered his pokemon.  
  
Staryu knocked Meowth off of its feet before he could even choose his attack. Dewgong,  
  
being part ice pokemon, took serious injury. The flying Zubat also took serious injury from  
  
Pikachu's thunder shock.  
  
"Zubat, leech life," ordered Christian.  
  
"Dewgong, aurora beam," said Lee.  
  
"Staryu, water gun, Hitmonchan, thunder punch, Pikachu, thunder wave, same targets!" said  
  
Ross.  
  
Staryu's water gun intercepted Dewgong's aurora beam, freezing into a spike of ice. The ice  
  
spike hit Meowth, making him faint. Hitmonchan hit Dewgong with a punch that sounded like  
  
lightening, this time taking advantage of Dewgong's water semi-type. Zubat was luckier than it's  
  
companions. Pikachu's thunder wave missed Zubat, but hit Dewgong, paralyzing it.  
  
"Dewgong, return," said Lee. Lee then went to get Meowth before trying to make a getaway  
  
in the vent system, with Meowth, several full pokeballs, and all of the cash.  
  
"Zubat, supersonic!"  
  
"Hitmonchan, comet punch Zubat, Pikachu, Staryu, stop Lee with water gun and thunder  
  
wave!" ordered Ross.  
  
Zubat released a supersonic at Hitmonchan. But the quick Hitmonchan dodged it and started  
  
punching Zubat until he fainted.  
  
"Uh-oh," said Christian when he saw that his only pokemon fainted.  
  
Christian started to run for the vent grate, but encountered the owner, holding a riffle, with  
  
Magnemite.  
  
"I give up," said Christian. Then he dropped a strange ball, the room filled with the same  
  
strange smoke that Bonnie and Clyde had used.  
  
When the smoke cleared, all of Ross, all of his pokemon, Magnemite, the shop owner, Lee,  
  
and Meowth was still there. But Christian and Zubat were gone.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
At the police station, Ross and the owner of the pet store had just finished filling out the  
  
report. "I oughta get to the pokemon center," said Ross.  
  
"Before you go, here's your reward money for helping us catch Meowth and Lee," thanked  
  
Jenny.  
  
Ross stepped out the door with a police officer that offered to give him a lift to the center  
  
when the store owner stopped him.  
  
"Before you leave town tomorrow, come by when we open at 6 a.m., I have to thank you for  
  
your help," explained the owner.  
  
"Thanks, I will," said Ross. He then climbed into the car and rode to the pokemon center.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
"What's wrong Jenny?" asked a police officer.  
  
"It's just that kid. I checked his record and so far, he's helped us catch 4 members of Team  
  
Rocket," explained Jenny.  
  
"You think that he's an ex-member?" asked the cop in front of her.  
  
"I just don't know..." replied Jenny.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
"You've got to get your Hitmonchan back," said Nick back at the pokemon center.  
  
"I can't," complained Mike, "If I bring up the trade, it would just be our word against his, and  
  
if its discovered that I tried to cheat in a trade, I could lose my trainer's licence. I'm afraid that  
  
I've lost my Hitmonchan." Chapter 20-A Friendly Reward Ross woke when his little alarm clock uncomfortably beat against his hip. Ross looked around  
  
and saw that everyone else in the trainers' quarters was fast asleep. Ross shut off the vibration  
  
alarm and checked the time, 5 a.m.  
  
Ross rolled up his sleeping bag, packed up his gear, and left for the male's restroom. Ross  
  
groomed himself, put on a new set of clothes, and started for a nearby fast food, 24 hour  
  
restaurant.  
  
Ross bought some a breakfast, some orange juice, and ate on the way to the mall. When he  
  
checked his watch, it read 5:45. Ross sipped some of the citric liquid and popped the last bite of  
  
biscuit into his mouth. Ross walked up to the mall and checked the door.  
  
It was locked for the moment. Ross checked his watch again, 5:58. Ross finished of his  
  
breakfast and put his trash into the nearby trash can. All of the sudden, Ross heard a loud click.  
  
Ross turned around and pulled on the glass door. It opened easily. 'The door must be on an  
  
automatic timer or something,' thought Ross.  
  
Ross walked in and proceeded to the pokemon pet store. The mall seemed eerily quiet, only a  
  
few stores were open. Ross felt a little funny, walking in such an empty building.  
  
When Ross reached the pokemon pet store, he was greeted by the owner of the store. "Hello  
  
again," said the cheerful man for such an early hour.  
  
"Hey," said Ross, "what is it that you wanted to see me for?"  
  
"Come on in," said the owner, letting Ross into the lit up store. "As a show of appreciation  
  
for saving my store, I am going to let you have any pokemon in my store, choose."  
  
"Are you sure?" asked Ross.  
  
"Yes," replied the owner, "If it wasn't for you, I would have lost everything. This is the least I  
  
could do."  
  
"Gee, thanks," said Ross.  
  
Ross started to look at the three pokemon that he really liked yesterday, Eevee, Growlithe, and  
  
Porygon. About a minute later, Ross decided to have a Growlithe.  
  
There were five Growlithes in the bin. Three of them were asleep, but the other two were  
  
wide awake. Both of them were very aggressive and wound up awakening the other puppies.  
  
Ross decided not to take one of the rowdy Growlithes. 'They might keep me and all of my  
  
pokemon up,' thought Ross.  
  
One of the Growlithes that woke up had a really bad attitude as he joined the other wild  
  
puppies. Ross looked at the other two. One was hiding in a corner, while the other one was on  
  
his hind legs, leaning against the side of the bin.  
  
Ross picked up the little pokemon which proceeded to lick Ross's face over and over again.  
  
Ross couldn't help but laugh as the little dog squirmed in his hands. Ross turned to the owner and  
  
said, "I'll take this one."  
  
The owner walked up, checked the puppy's tag and handed Ross a pokeball and a sack of  
  
pokemon food specially designed for fire pokemon.  
  
"It's been nice knowing you," said the owner.  
  
"Same here," replied Ross. And with that, Ross put Growlithe into its pokeball and walked for  
  
the exit.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
"Hi Misty," said Lorelei.  
  
"Hi Lorelei. Ash sent me to pick up the latest reports on those trainers," explained Misty.  
  
Lorelei picked up a folder and said, "Here they are. They're definitely shaping out to be  
  
pokemon masters, and they haven't even started to compete for badges yet!"  
  
When Misty delivered the folder to Ash and Pikachu, he was most impressed at what he  
  
saw. "Maybe he should keep an eye on this Ross kid," suggested Ash.  
  
"Pika, pi," replied Pikachu.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
Chapter 21-On The Road Again Ross reached the outskirts of town and started to walk down Route 2. The sun wasn't up  
  
yet and there wasn't any street lights to disturb the wild pokemon, so Ross had to go by the light  
  
from his flashlight.  
  
Once Ross thought that he was out of town enough, Ross let his pokemon out and gave  
  
the same proposal to his newest pokemon: Staryu, Pikachu, Spearow, Hitmonchan, and  
  
Growlithe.  
  
Staryu and Spearow preferred riding in their pokeballs, but Pikachu, Hitmonchan, and  
  
Growlithe chose to walk with the others for a while.  
  
A Pidgey and Rattata appeared. Ross sent out Pikachu and Hitmonchan to fight them.  
  
"Pikachu, thunder shock Pidgey, Hitmonchan, comet punch Rattata," ordered Ross.  
  
Pidgey was seriously hit and dropped to the ground to catch its breath while Rattata was  
  
knocked back by the powerful punches launched by Hitmonchan. Ross threw a pokeball at each  
  
of them and easily caught both of them.  
  
Ross attached the pokeballs to his belt and continued on his way with all of his  
  
companion. The trip was uneventful until a trainer challenged Ross.  
  
"2 on 2," explained the trainer, "I'll start out with Caterpie, GO!" The trainer tossed a  
  
pokeball and out came a green worm.  
  
"I'll start with Charmander, GO!!!" said Ross. Charmander walked out while the other  
  
pokemon sat down to watch the battle.  
  
"Caterpie, tackle," said the trainer.  
  
"Charmander, ember," said Ross.  
  
Caterpie charged up at Charmander, but was easily hit by Charmander's ember. Caterpie  
  
was seriously burned and was called back.  
  
"I was just warming up," explained the trainer, "Now you'll face a real challenge, Weedle,  
  
GO!" A yellow bug with a stinger on its head emerged from a pokeball.  
  
"Weedle, poison sting," ordered the bug trainer.  
  
"Charmander, another ember" said Ross.  
  
Weedle was seriously injured, but was still in it.  
  
"String shot Weedle," commanded the trainer.  
  
"Scratch attack," ordered Ross.  
  
Weedle sprayed some fine white string at Charmander, tying him up.  
  
"Charmander, return, go Rattata," stated Ross.  
  
"Weedle, poison sting."  
  
"Rattata, Quick attack."  
  
Rattata hit Weedle easily, making it faint.  
  
Ross collected his winnings, and untied Charmander before continuing on his way.  
  
Ross encountered a few more trainers, beating them easily before a stream joined the path.  
  
Ross and pokemon stopped to rest Ross let his other pokemon out to get some fresh air and  
  
exercise. Ross's pokemon played hide-and-seek, swam in the stream, and otherwise had fun.  
  
Ross set out lunch and explained things to Pidgey and Rattata. After everyone finished eating,  
  
Pidgey chose to stay inside for now while Rattata walked.  
  
"Let's go," said Ross as he got to his feet.  
  
Ross and company continued on their way, easily defeating other trainers that challenged  
  
them on their way. All of them had fairly weak bug pokemon.  
  
Ross and pokemon reached a fence and gate house at about 3.  
  
"This is the entrance to the Viridian Forest. This is a bug pokemon preserve. We need  
  
you to sign in so that we know to send a search party if you don't come out in 5 days," explained  
  
the guard.  
  
"Okay," said Ross as he signed a clipboard the guard handed him, "Here you go." Ross  
  
handed back the sign-in sheet.  
  
"Thanks," said the guard, "You're more than welcome to capture any pokemon that you  
  
would like, but don't get too greedy." He then pushed a button and the gate opened. Chapter 22-Into The Forest Ross and pokemon stepped through the gate and looked around. They were in a plush  
  
forest. The air was full of the cries of bugs calling out their names. The gate closed behind them  
  
with a clang.  
  
Ross looked behind them and warned Charmander to mind his flame tail before starting to  
  
walk into the lush green underbrush. It wasn't too long until Ross and party encountered a purple  
  
bug with antennae that walked on its hind legs.  
  
"Venonat," said the bug.  
  
"Spearow, go," Ross said softly to avoid scaring the small bug, "Peck attack."  
  
Ross dropped a pokeball and out came Spearow. Spearow hit Venonat with its beak  
  
before Venonat could retaliate.  
  
"Fury attack," commanded Ross.  
  
Spearow started to hit Venonat over and over until it was ready to faint. Ross threw a  
  
pokeball at the weak bug and easily caught it.  
  
Spearow was called back but wanted to stay out for a while.  
  
"Fine, but I won't carry you," said Ross and they continued on their way.  
  
Ross and his pokemon fought a few more trainers, but they were no match for Ross and  
  
his pokemon. Ross also tried some fishing for a while, but didn't have any bites.  
  
Ross was looking for some new pokemon when he encountered a Weedle fighting a  
  
Caterpie. Ross watched as the Caterpie was knocked hurt and poisoned by the also weak  
  
Weedle. Ross just threw a pokeball at each of them and caught both of them without any trouble.  
  
It was getting late and the immediate area was filled with growling stomachs. Ross  
  
realized that it was time to set up camp. He set down his backpack and said, "this looks like a  
  
good place to set up camp."  
  
All of Ross's pokemon cheered, Ross had chosen a glen with a nearby stream. All of them  
  
thought that it was a good choice of campsites.  
  
Ross let all of his pokemon out and said, "Alright, everyone's going to have to help to get  
  
everything done. Bulbasaur, make some kindling with razor leaves. Charmander, go look for  
  
rocks to surround the campfire and for your tail. Mew, you, me, and the three bugs will set up  
  
the tent. Rattata, Hitmonchan, and Spearow will go get some firewood. Pidgey, Growlithe, and  
  
Squirtle, go find some fruit and berries. Staryu, you fill a pot with water and then help  
  
Charmander. Let's get to work."  
  
With everyone working together, setting up camp didn't take too long at all. Soon,  
  
everyone had a full stomach. While Ross worked on the TM kit, his pokemon were off doing  
  
their preferred thing. Squirtle and Staryu were playing in the water with Bulbasaur. Hitmonchan  
  
was shadowboxing. Charmander, and Growlithe were talking by the fire. Mew and Rattata were  
  
playing hide-and-seek. Caterpie, Weedle, and Venonat were watching Ross as he tinkered with  
  
this and that. The birds were sitting in a tree, watching everyone. But no one knew that a pair of  
  
eyes was watching all of them from a few feet away. Chapter 23-Don't Bug Me  
  
It was about 1 o'clock. Ross and pokemon had just finished lunch after a morning of  
  
battling. Ross finished off a few of the TMs and managed to make them have multiple uses. Ross  
  
also used them to teach some of his pokemon the new moves. Caterpie and Weedle were acting a  
  
little weird, so Ross started to carry them on his shoulders.  
  
Ross and company were starting to leave when they heard a voice.  
  
"To protect the world from devastation. To unite all people within our nation. To  
  
denounce the evils of truth and love. To extend my reach to the stars above. Christian. Team  
  
Rocket, blast off at the speed of light. Surrender now or prepare to fight."  
  
Christian jumped down from a tree with a pokeball in hand.  
  
"Where's the rest of them?" asked Ross.  
  
"Who?" asked Christian.  
  
"Duh, your squad," answered Ross.  
  
"There's a shortage of members at the moment," replied Christian, "1 on 1, if I win, I get  
  
your Mew and Hitmonchan."  
  
"But what if I win?" Asked Ross.  
  
"If you win, I'll turn myself in," replied Christian.  
  
"I say go for it," chimed in Mew. Christian not being able to understand Ross's pokemon,  
  
was waiting for Ross to decide.  
  
"Me too," added Hitmonchan.  
  
"Are you two sure?" asked Ross.  
  
"Why are you talking to your pokemon?" asked a confused Christian.  
  
Mew and Hitmonchan nodded and said, "If we can put an end to another member of Team  
  
Rocket, it's worth the risk."  
  
Ross smiled, turned to face Christian, and said, "I accept."  
  
Christian threw out a pokeball and said, "Pokemon, GO!!!"  
  
"Pikachu, I choose you!"  
  
Pikachu ran out from the pack of pokemon while Christian's pokemon took shape. The  
  
beam of light from Christian's pokeball turned into a purple bat, this one however had eyes and a  
  
bigger mouth than Zubat.  
  
"GOL-Bat!" exclaimed the bat.  
  
"Pikachu, thunder shock," said Ross.  
  
"Golbat, screech attack," ordered Christian.  
  
Golbat let out an ear-piercing sound, Ross and Pikachu covered their ears trying to block  
  
out the horrible sound. Pikachu was seriously annoyed by the terrible sound and let electricity fly  
  
at the source of the terrible sound. Golbat was hit, but was still in it.  
  
"Golbat wing attack" said Christian.  
  
"Pikachu, swift."  
  
Golbat flew down and knocked Pikachu back into a tree with its wings.  
  
"Golbat, leech life," commanded Christian.  
  
"Pikachu, use the thunderbolt!!!!!" hollered Ross.  
  
Pikachu stood up and raised its arms. Thunder could be heard in the distance. Everyone  
  
looked up and saw that dark clouds were blocking out the sunlight. Christian looked worried as  
  
white light blinked in the clouds.  
  
Golbat charged at Pikachu, mouth wide open, fangs ready. Pikachu yelled and lightning  
  
struck Golbat. When the light from the bolt faded, Golbat was lying motionless on the ground  
  
and Pikachu was resting against a tree.  
  
"NO!!!" exclaimed Christian.  
  
"Yes, you lost now get out of here," said Ross. Christian called Golbat back into its  
  
pokeball, turned on his heel, and marched off.  
  
Suddenly, a drop of moisture fell on Ross's hand. Then another, and another. It was  
  
raining. Chapter 24-Rained Out  
  
'Uh-oh,' thought Ross.  
  
"Everyone return," said Ross. All of Ross's pokemon turned into red energy and flew into  
  
different pokeballs on his belt. Ross took off his backpack and pulled out his tent.  
  
About 10 minutes later, Ross was huddled in his tent, working on his TM kit and keeping  
  
an eye on Caterpie and Weedle, which he called back out to keep an eye on.  
  
Outside, rain could be heard coming down fiercely. It didn't sound like it was going to  
  
stop any time soon, and Ross figured that he was only about halfway through the forest. Caterpie  
  
and Weedle were staying very still until they started to cover themselves with string shot.  
  
'What on Earth are they doing?' wondered Ross.  
  
The two bugs both turned white and Ross stopped working on his TM. When the white  
  
faded, two different pokemon lied where Caterpie and Weedle was.  
  
"Ka-kun-a," said one of the pokemon.  
  
"Met-a-pod," replied the other pokemon.  
  
'THEY'VE EVOLVED!' thought Ross.  
  
Ross put the two cocoons into their pokeballs and went back to work. Ross had gotten a  
  
lot of progress made when it was time to eat dinner. Ross fed his pokemon 3 at a time due to the  
  
limited space in the tent. Ross got some more work done before it was time to go to sleep.  
  
Ross rolled out his sleeping bag, inflated his pillow, and drifted off to sleep to the sound of  
  
rain landing on the tent's roof. Chapter 25-The Next Day  
  
The next day, Ross woke up to his alarm clock and a beautiful sunrise. The ground was  
  
still a little damp, but it wasn't raining anymore.  
  
Ross ate with his pokemon, gathered up his things, and continued on his way. Most of  
  
Ross's pokemon enjoyed the extra humidity, but the Charmander and Growlithe chose to stay in  
  
their pokeballs.  
  
The party continued on their way, heading for the Pewter side of the forest. Soon, Ross  
  
and company found a Scyther, foraging for berries.  
  
"Metapod, go, harden as much as you can," instructed Ross.  
  
Scyther attacked and chipped its blades. Scyther started to cry over its damaged wings  
  
and began to attack again.  
  
Scyther kept hurting itself on Metapod's hard shell before it finally used a quick attack and  
  
cracked Metapod's shell. Scyther tried to attack Metapod again but a white light from the crack  
  
blinded him. A butterfly emerged from the opening.  
  
"Metapod evolved into Butterfree!" exclaimed Ross, "Use sleep powder."  
  
Butterfree released a bright blue powder onto Scyther, who promptly fell asleep.  
  
Ross threw a pokeball at the Scyther. It didn't even struggle! Ross picked up the  
  
pokeball and attached it to his waist. They continued on their way, fighting trainers as they went.  
  
They eventually encountered a Pinsir.  
  
Ross sent out Kakuna and using a similar technique, evolved Kakuna into Beedrill and  
  
caught Pinsir.  
  
At about 5:30, Ross and pokemon reached their goal, the Pewter side of the forest. It was  
  
only a short jog to Pewter City. Ross put all of his pokemon into their pokeballs to avoid  
  
attention from thieves.  
  
Ross had his pokemon healed at the pokemon center before going to the gym. The doors  
  
were locked. Ross noticed that the gym hours were 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. According to his watch, it  
  
was 6 p.m.  
  
'DANG,' thought Ross, 'I'm too late to battle today.'  
  
Ross was disappointed, but decided to take advantage of his free time. He walked down  
  
the street to a pokemon mart and market complex and bought fresh supplies.  
  
On his way back to the pokemon center, Ross encountered two familiar faces. "Hey bro,"  
  
said Adam.  
  
"It's my turn to fight you Ross," demanded Ricky, "2 on 2.  
  
"Agreed," said Ross. Chapter 26-Power Of Pewter  
  
"Nidoran, I choose you," cried Ricky. A purple creature with long ears emerged from the  
  
pokeball.  
  
"Scyther, take to the skies," said Ross as Scyther flapped its wings and readied its blade  
  
arms.  
  
"Horn attack," ordered Ricky.  
  
"Slash," said Ross.  
  
Nidoran ran up and tried to stab Scyther with its horn, but lost its horn when Scyther cut it  
  
off with a slash. Nidoran looked at the stub where his horn used to be, and started crying.  
  
"Nidoran, return, Geodude, go, rock throw!"  
  
"Scyther, double team."  
  
Scyther seemed to be in two places at once. Geodude looked at the two bugs and  
  
attacked the wrong Scyther.  
  
"Tackle," commanded Ricky.  
  
"Quick attack Scyther."  
  
Scyther hit Geodude as it came after him, knocking Geodude off course. Geodude wound  
  
up tackling a lamp post.  
  
"Geodude, return," Ricky said, realizing that he couldn't win. "Here's your money."  
  
Ricky threw some money at Ross and walked off with Adam.  
  
Chapter 27-The Insect Badge  
  
Ross woke up before any of the other trainers so that he could be the first to  
  
challenge the gym leader. Ross gathered his things, went through the rest room,  
  
grabbed some breakfast from the trainers' buffet, and left the pokemon center.  
  
The street lights were dimming as the sun rose over the top of the massive  
  
building that was the pokemon gym. It was a boulder like shape with glass  
  
doors. On the lawn in front of the building, several decorations in the form of  
  
bug pokemon stood. Metapods and Kakunas lined the walk. A Caterpie fountain  
  
was on one side of the concrete walk with a Weedle fountain on the opposite  
  
side.  
  
Ross walked up to the doors and grabbed the Parasect doorknob.  
  
'Here goes something,' thought Ross as he turned the bronze knob and stepped  
  
inside.  
  
The interior of the gym looked had an oriental design. Swords were hung with  
  
great care in holders on the walls. A faint smell of incense floated down the  
  
hall. The doors were made out of some sort of paper in a wooden frame. Ross  
  
kept walking until he reached a pair of doors labeled, 'Main Gym, Leader is IN.'  
  
Ross took in a deep breath and stepped inside. He was in a large room, a  
  
rectangle on the floor represented where the pokemon would battle. At the far  
  
end of the arena, a shrine stood with a figure kneeling before it.  
  
The figure was dressed in armor with a curved sword at his left side. "My  
  
first challenger of the day," said the figure.  
  
The man stood up to his full height and turned around. "I am Samurai, leader  
  
of the Pewter City Gym," stated the man, "I have been waiting for you Ross."  
  
"How did you know my name?" asked Ross.  
  
Samurai ignored Ross's question and said, "This will be a 3 on 3 battle. My  
  
first pokemon will be Butterfree, GO!!!"  
  
Samurai dropped a pokeball and a butterfly popped out.  
  
"I will use Charmander," said Ross. Charmander popped out of his pokeball from  
  
Ross's belt.  
  
"Butterfree, stun spore," ordered Samurai.  
  
"Charmander, ember," called Ross.  
  
Butterfree flapped its wings, releasing a strange dust. Charmander easily  
  
dodged it and hit Butterfree with an ember.  
  
"Butterfree, tackle," commanded Samurai.  
  
"Charmander, slash," said Ross.  
  
Butterfree moved at Charmander, but was knocked away by a powerful swipe of his  
  
claw. Butterfree was having trouble flying when Samurai called it back and sent  
  
out a Beedrill.  
  
"Beedrill, twineedle,"  
  
"Charmander, fire blast!"  
  
Beedrill charged at Charmander, but was caught in the blast, forcing him to  
  
land.  
  
"Fury attack," said Samurai.  
  
"Ember," said Ross.  
  
Beedrill moved towards Charmander and hit him until Charmander fainted.  
  
"Charmander, return," ordered Ross holding up Charmander's pokeball, "Squirtle,  
  
GO!"  
  
The tiny turtle appeared, facing the bee. "Bubble beam," said Ross  
  
"Beedrill, poison sting," said Samurai.  
  
Beedrill moved towards Squirtle, but lost sight of him when the bubbles blocked  
  
its vision. Beedrill wound up trying to attack the floor and bent his stinger.  
  
"Beedrill return, go Pinsir, vice grip!" hollered Ross's armored opponent.  
  
"Water Gun," commanded Ross.  
  
Pinsir tried to get close enough to obey its trainer, but was kept back by  
  
Squirtle's water gun. Pinsir was getting weak.  
  
"Pinsir, guillotine!"  
  
'WHAT!?!' thought Ross.  
  
Pinsir ran at Squirtle, ready to use its powerful claws. "WITHDRAW!" hollered  
  
Ross, desperate to keep his pokemon in one piece.  
  
Squirtle hid in its shell just as Pinsir was bent over to close its claws.  
  
When Pinsir stood up straight, it got confused when Squirtle's head wasn't on  
  
the ground. Pinsir looked into Squirtle's shell when...  
  
POW!  
  
Squirtle did a skull bash, leaving Pinsir dazed.  
  
"Pinsir, return," said Samurai, holding up a pokeball, Pinsir became a ball of  
  
red energy and vanished into the pokeball. "You have beaten me, you really are  
  
as good as they said you are."  
  
"Who are 'they'?" asked Ross.  
  
Like last time, Samurai doesn't answer his question. "You have earned the  
  
Insect Badge, congratulations," Samurai turned to his shrine. A panel in the  
  
roof opened and a small case lowered from the opening.  
  
Ross looked in the case and saw a badge shaped like an Egyptian scarab. Ross  
  
took the badge and left, he knew that he wouldn't be getting the answers to the  
  
questions he found here.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Samurai watched Ross leave in a mirror on the shrine before he tapped a button.  
  
Suzie's face flashed onto the screen.  
  
"What is it Samurai?" asked Suzie.  
  
"Ross just left with an Insect Badge. He should be at Mt. Moon before too  
  
long. Better tell Seymour to be ready for them."  
  
"Okay, talk to you later," said Suzie.  
  
"Good day," said Samurai before the screen went black.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED 


	3. Act 3

Originally by Ross Jacobsen, transferred to fanfiction.net by voyager1713 Keep the reviews coming, positive or negative.  
  
Chapter 28-Reencounter  
  
Ross continued down Route 3, battling anyone that happened to challenge him.  
  
Ross always beat them and continued on his way a little richer than before. It  
  
wasn't until Ross and pokemon stopped for lunch when the day got interesting.  
  
"YOU!" cried a voice down the path. Ross turned and saw the boy he traded with  
  
in Viridian pointing at Ross with his companion by his side.  
  
"You took my Hitmonchan!" accused the first boy.  
  
Ross was insulted. "I did not," denied Ross, "I traded you a Spearow for him."  
  
"You mixed him up into trading the wrong pokemon," claimed the first boy's  
  
friend.  
  
"How could I do that?" asked Ross.  
  
"There's one way to settle this. We battle. Winner gets Hitmonchan," said the  
  
trader.  
  
"Why should I risk losing Hitmonchan?" asked Ross, "You'd have to put up an  
  
equally valuable prize to even make me consider betting him."  
  
"Alright," said the angry trader with fire in his eyes, "I'll put my Hitmonlee  
  
in too." This clearly shocked his friend.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Are you sure about this Mike?" whispered Nick, trying not to be heard by Ross  
  
and pokemon.  
  
"Its either both or neither for me Nick," replied Mike, "My parents will KILL  
  
me if I don't have them the next time I call."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ross wasn't sure about this until Hitmonchan told him to take the offer. "Are  
  
you sure?" asked Ross.  
  
"Mike is a terrible trainer," said Hitmonchan, "And Hitmonlee is my friend. If  
  
I can help him get away from Mike and Nick, it's worth the risk. Besides, I  
  
have confidence in you and the other pokemon. I know that together, you can  
  
win. Just make sure that it's Hitmonlee in the pokeball and not another one."  
  
Ross and the other pokemon were moved by this little speech and was determined  
  
not to lose. Ross turned to Mike and said, "With one condition, Hitmonchan and  
  
Hitmonlee sit on that log, out of their pokeballs."  
  
Mike thought it over and said, "Agreed." Chapter 29-Mighty Mike  
  
Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee were siting on the log, reminiscing about old times  
  
and getting ready to watch the match. All of Ross's pokemon wanted to be in the  
  
battle, but Ross and Mike already agreed that it would be a 3 on 3 battle  
  
without Hitmonchan or Hitmonlee.  
  
"Magikarp, GO!!!" commanded Mike.  
  
Magikarp appeared on the grass ground and started to flop around. The  
  
Hitmonchan started to laugh when Hitmonlee said something in his own toungue.  
  
Hitmonchan stopped laughing and shouted, "Magikarp is going to evolve soon!  
  
Attack him hard and FAST!"  
  
"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" said Ross.  
  
"Magikarp, tackle," hollered Mike.  
  
"Bulbasaur, razor leaf," said Ross.  
  
Leaves flew from Bulbasaur and hit Magikarp, critically hitting it.  
  
"Come on and evolve already Magikarp!" shouted Mike.  
  
"Finish it, vine whip," instructed Ross.  
  
Magikarp flopped around and was hit by Bulbasaur's vines. Magikarp fainted.  
  
"Ponyta, GO!!!" commanded Mike without calling back Magikarp.  
  
Ponyta used fire spin on Bulbasaur, knocking him out.  
  
"Bulbasaur, return, go Staryu, water gun!" ordered Ross.  
  
Staryu sprayed Ponyta, reducing its strength by half. Unfortunately, Staryu  
  
was caught in a fire spin and suffered the same fate as Bulbasaur.  
  
"Staryu, return, go Squirtle, bubble beam,"  
  
Squirtle went out and sprayed bubbles at Ponyta. The more powerful attack  
  
knocked out Ponyta.  
  
"Ponyta, return, go Spearow!" ordered Mike as he sent out his last pokemon.  
  
Spearow emerged and saw the Squirtle that he hated so much.  
  
"AAHHHH!!!" screamed Squirtle in fear.  
  
Mike ordered Spearow to start out with drill peck. Ross called for withdraw.  
  
Spearow attacked but couldn't get through Squirtle's tough shell.  
  
Mike called for a fury attack while Squirtle tried to fend of Spearow with a  
  
water gun. Squirtle was knocked back onto its shell and was stuck rocking back  
  
and forth. Spearow landed and started to peck at the vulnerable Squirtle.  
  
Squirtle looked to its helpless trainer, then to the Hitmons on the log, sad  
  
that Squirtle was losing, and then at Mike. He was smiling wickedly and  
  
laughing. Squirtle just looked at that laughing face, that evil, wicked,  
  
laughing, face.  
  
Squirtle looked at the Spearow, still attacking him, enjoying every single  
  
moment of its revenge. Squirtle began to get mad. Those two evil, wretched  
  
souls, getting the better of him just made his blood boil.  
  
Squirtle started to feel warm and turn white. Spearow, confused as of what was  
  
going on, was blinded by the white light emitting from Squirtle. Fin ears grew  
  
from Squirtle's head and his arms, legs, and tail grew longer and stronger.  
  
When the light faded, it was clear that Squirtle also now had teeth.  
  
"WAR-TOR-TLE!!!!!" cried the turtle that was once Squirtle.  
  
Everyone was amazed at the transformation. Wartortle swung his limbs back and  
  
forth, hitting Spearow whenever it got close. Finally, Wartorle was back on his  
  
feet and started to soak Spearow.  
  
Spearow fell to the ground and recieved a skull bash from Wartortle. Spearow  
  
was left seeing stars before fainting. Mike called back Spearow and the Hitmons  
  
ran for Ross.  
  
A net wrapped around the Hitmons and was dragged back to Mike. I'm trading you  
  
that loser Magikarp for these Hitmons. Mike and Nick ran off before Ross could  
  
object. Soon, Mike and Nick stopped at the sound of a high pitched voice.  
  
"piKaCHU!" said the fast voice. Mike dropped the net holding the Hitmons.  
  
Ross looked at his Pikachu, wondering what happened, but it was equally  
  
puzzled.  
  
"RUN FOR IT!!!" yelled Mike.  
  
"What about Magikarp and the Hitmons?" asked Nick.  
  
"Forget them all!" responded Mike.  
  
'I don't believe it,' thought Ross, 'They're abandoning pokemon! Well I  
  
promise that I am never going to abandon any pokemon.' With that thought, Ross  
  
picked up Magikarp, ready to carry it to the Hitmons and then, the pokemon  
  
center.  
  
Ross looked towards Mike and Nick, but all he could see was a single silhouette  
  
walk out of the trees, open Mike's net, and let the Hitmons out. Hitmonlee and  
  
Hitmonchan ran back to Ross while the mysterious figure melted back into the  
  
trees. Chapter 30-Moon Town  
  
With Mike and Nick out of action, Ross walked the last half-mile to the base of  
  
Mt. Moon where the next town was.  
  
Moon Town was among the smallest towns around, so finding the pokemon center  
  
relatively easy. After healing his pokemon, Ross asked what would happen to  
  
Magikarp.  
  
"You saved him, you keep him," explained a male nurse.  
  
Ross walked up to the fish resting in a tank, who came to life when he saw its  
  
savior.  
  
"Do you want to come with me?" Ross asked Magikarp.  
  
The orange fish responded by jumping into Ross's arms. Ross set the pokemon  
  
down and held out a pokeball. Magikarp turned into a ball of red energy which  
  
flew into the pokeball.  
  
Ross found out in Pewter that all gyms had the same hours. Ross was too late  
  
to battle at the gym today, so Ross left the small town to catch more pokemon.  
  
Ross's pokemon was walking with him when Hitmonlee tripped on something.  
  
"You okay?" asked Ross.  
  
Hitmonlee got up and started to say something when the rock started to float in  
  
the air. A pair of arms opened around the rock revealing two eyes and a mouth.  
  
"Geodude," said the rock.  
  
"WOW! A wild Geodude, we gotta catch it! Staryu..." started Ross.  
  
"No," said Hitmonlee, "This one's mine. He tripped me and I intend to teach  
  
him some manners."  
  
"Okay, Hitmonlee, GO!!!" changed Ross.  
  
Hitmonlee walked up to the Geodude, took a fighting stance, and said, "Defend  
  
yourself." Chapter 31-Hitmonlee's Battles  
  
"Rolling kick," instructed Ross.  
  
Hitmonlee dived into a roll, aimed straight at Geodude. Geodude started to  
  
charge at Hitmonlee for a tackle, but encountered a slight problem in the  
  
way...Hitmonlee's foot. Geodude was held on the ground by Hitmonlee, weak from  
  
the kick it received. Ross threw a pokeball and caught Geodude.  
  
Hitmonlee was really enthusiastic about catching Geodude and ran off to find  
  
some more wild pokemon to fight. Ross lost track of Hitmonlee as he ran off.  
  
Ross and crew started to look for Hitmonlee. It was starting to get dark out  
  
when they saw Hitmonlee stand up straight waving a hand to call them over. When  
  
Ross and crew arrived, they couldn't believe what they saw. Hitmonlee was  
  
fighting a Machop, Paras, and Zubat all at once. The battle was moving so fast  
  
that Ross couldn't give commands to Hitmonlee. When Ross tried to send another  
  
pokemon out to help Hitmonlee, he was waved off.  
  
Before Ross knew it, Machop was tossed at his feet, nearly out cold and too  
  
weak to struggle. Ross dropped an empty pokeball onto him and caught Machop.  
  
Hitmonlee continued to fight Paras and Zubat single-handedly. Hitmonlee was  
  
doing impressively well. Hitmonlee did a double kick to Paras and knocked him  
  
up against a rock. Ross threw another pokeball and caught Paras. All that was  
  
left were Zubat and Hitmonlee. Hitmonlee did a jump kick and slammed Zubat into  
  
the ground. Zubat was dazed, but still hanging in there. Zubat tried to get  
  
back into the air, but was knocked back down with a mega kick. Zubat fainted  
  
and Ross caught it in a third pokeball.  
  
Ross and his pokemon clapped and cheered, but Hitmonchan didn't. "Why did you  
  
want to fight 3 enemies at once alone?" Hitmonchan asked Hitmonlee once the  
  
cheering died down.  
  
"I wanted to prove myself and show my gratitude to Ross and the others,"  
  
explained Hitmonlee.  
  
"You didn't have to prove yourself to me or anyone else," explained Ross, "You  
  
just have to be a good friend and be ready when we need you." Hitmonlee  
  
gradually developed a smile.  
  
"It's getting late, we should head back for the pokemon center," announced  
  
Ross. "Maybe when we get back, some of you could teach me some moves."  
  
All of the pokemon liked the thought of teaching their trainer some of their  
  
moves and went back to the small town in high hopes. Chapter 32-The Trainer's Training  
  
Back at the pokemon center, the outdoor lights were just coming on. There was  
  
still a couple of hours before Ross had to turn in for the night, so Ross took  
  
his pokemon to the battle room in the pokemon center.  
  
The room was large and empty except for a few dummies stacked in the corner.  
  
Ross set up one of the dummies and pulled out Mew.  
  
"I'm going to teach you how to telepathically communicate with psychic and  
  
ghost pokemon," said Mew, "Do as I do."  
  
"Okay," said Ross.  
  
Mew sat down with its legs crossed and closed his eyes. Ross did the same and  
  
Mew started to speak.  
  
"Listen to the sound of my voice, listen only to my voice," instructed Mew, "In  
  
order to communicate telepathically with pokemon, you must learn to be able to  
  
determine what I'm going to.."  
  
"...say before I say it," said Ross, "Listening to the mind's voice is  
  
essential for predicting a pokemon's next move."  
  
Ross opened his eyes and saw Mew standing up, looking at Ross. Ross thought,  
  
'Testing 1, 2, 1, 2..'  
  
"3," said Mew. Ross smiled as Mew went back into his pokeball.  
  
"Guess that's it for lesson one," said Ross.  
  
Ross called out Hitmonchan, who said, "I'll teach you how to use comet punch."  
  
Ross nodded while Hitmonchan walked over to the dummy Ross set up. Hitmonchan  
  
shot out two quick lefts and then a powerful right uppercut. The dummy was  
  
launched into the air and fell with a soft thud.  
  
Hitmonchan set the dummy back up and motioned for Ross to try. Ross walked  
  
over and repeated Hitmonchan's punches. This time, the dummy flipped onto its  
  
back. Ross and Hitmonchan sparred for a little bit to get Ross used to the feel  
  
of comet punch. Hitmonchan went back into its pokeball for the night. Ross  
  
pulled out Hitmonlee's pokeball and called him out.  
  
Hitmonlee set up the dummy and showed Ross how to do a double kick. Ross  
  
learned quickly and spared a few rounds with Hitmonlee. To keep Ross on his  
  
toes, Hitmonlee mixed in a few of his special kicks. Ross imitated Hitmonlee's  
  
kicks, but had some trouble. Ross and Hitmonlee continued to spar until Nurse  
  
Joy opened the door.  
  
"You have better pack it in," explained Joy. "Trainers have to be in bed in 20  
  
minutes."  
  
Hitmonlee and Ross sighed in unison, but did as they were told.  
  
Hitmonlee got into his pokeball while Ross got set up for bed. Chapter 33-News Flash!  
  
Ross was finishing up with brushing his teeth when a large man came out of a  
  
bathroom stall and dropped a newspaper onto the counter. Ross bent over to spit  
  
into the sink when the headline caught his eye.  
  
'Team Rocket is Alive and Kicking'  
  
Ross swallowed his toothpaste and read the article.  
  
'Yesterday afternoon, 50 captured members of Team Rocket broke out of jail.  
  
Many of the squads have started an nation-wide crime wave, ranging from  
  
individual robberies and pokemon center raids, to shopping centers and even  
  
starting pokemon distributors. "It was terrible," says one of the latest  
  
victims, "They even stole my Magikarp!!!" At the latest shopping mall robbery,  
  
a gang newsletter was recovered including names and descriptions of 5 trainers  
  
on their 'blacklist.'  
  
'I'd hate to be one of those suckers!' thought Ross as he looked at the names  
  
of the blacklisted trainers.  
  
'Ash Ketchem, small surprise,' thought Ross as he read, 'Indigo Plateau  
  
Pikachu, I didn't even know that he was a trainer! Mike Crosby, Nick Grahm,  
  
whoever they are...'  
  
Ross's jaw dropped when he saw the last name. He couldn't believe his eyes!  
  
The last name was...  
  
************************************************************************ "Ross  
  
Jacobsen," said the man in blue, "He was the kid that caught those four members  
  
of Team Rocket. They must be short on members for them to blacklist this kid  
  
for that."  
  
"I think it's more than that," said Jenny, "If Ross has some rare pokemon, or  
  
was a former member, Team Rocket would consider him more of a threat."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Pika, Pika-PIka," said a small yellow rodent.  
  
"What is it Pikachu?" asked Ash. Pikachu held up a newspaper and pointed to an  
  
article. Ash started to read it and said, "So Team Rocket is still out to get  
  
us, what else is new?"  
  
Pikachu fell over, he couldn't believe the ignorance of his friend sometimes.  
  
He removed the paper from Ash's hand, rolled it up, and smacked Ash over the  
  
head with it. While Ash rubbed his head, Pikachu pointed at a line towards the  
  
bottom of the article.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ross tossed in his sleep that night. He was having nightmares about Team  
  
Rocket. He dremt that Christian, Lee, Meowth, Bonnie, and Clyde were  
  
surrounding him. Ross reached for his pokemon, but none of them were on his  
  
belt. A Magneton floated into view, holding several pokeballs with its magnetic  
  
forces. Ross was easily overpowered and tied upside-down in a tree, left for  
  
the wild pokemon to have their way with. A Primeape leaped up from the ground  
  
and ready to thrash at the helpless Ross.  
  
Ross sat up straight in his bed, pajamas soaked in cold sweat. Suddenly  
  
worried for his pokemon's well-being, Ross opened his backpack. He only relaxed  
  
after he accounted for each of his pokeballs.  
  
Ross closed his backpack and laid back down. If Team Rocket wanted him and his  
  
pokemon bad enough, they would find a way to do it. Chapter 34-The Earth Badge  
  
Ross felt the alarm beat against his hip again, but didn't need to be waken up  
  
this time. He spent the entire night worrying about when and IF Team Rocket  
  
would be coming after him. Even though scared stiff, Ross somehow got out of  
  
his bed and was at the gym when the receptionist unlocked the door.  
  
The inside of the gym was much more interesting than the outside. Ross walked  
  
down the hall, peeking into a room once in a while. Most of them had laboratory  
  
equipment in them, but some of them had very humble accommodations. A  
  
fireplace, some cots, and only one bathroom that Ross could find!  
  
Ross tried to remember who the gym leader was, but all that he could remember  
  
was that he didn't like to be called 'mister' or any other name except for  
  
one...  
  
'SEYMOUR,' thought Ross. That was the leader's name. Ross was glad that he  
  
remembered, or Seymour might take his extra aggression on Ross's pokemon.  
  
Ross stood before a pair of doors labeled;  
  
"Earthen Warriors' Battle Arena  
  
The Leader Awaits All Challengers"  
  
Ross stepped inside. The arena resembled the interior of a frontier cabin.  
  
The only difference was a mobile of the solar system hanging from the center  
  
beam. Ross also noticed a scruffy looking man with glasses in a white lab coat.  
  
"My opponents arrive with much glee, but usually leave in misery," quoted the  
  
man, "Seymour is my name, leading this gym brings me fame."  
  
Ross wondered why a gym leader would be talking in rhyme when Seymour said,  
  
"Let's get this match over and done, this match will be one-on-one."  
  
Ross pulled out Bulbasaur's pokeball and readied himself for another battle.  
  
"This pokemon is a sure-fire bet," explained Seymour, "Your only opponent will  
  
be Diglett."  
  
Seymour tossed out a pokeball while Ross tossed out Bulbasaur's.  
  
A tiny mole emerged from Seymour's pokeball to battle Ross's Bulbasaur.  
  
"In order to beat it, I say to scratch it!" rhymed Seymour.  
  
"Razor leaf," instructed Ross.  
  
Diglett ran up to Bulbasaur to scratch him but was seriously hurt by the razor  
  
leaves.  
  
"To avoid the next round, dig into the ground."  
  
"Tackle it Bulbasaur," said Ross  
  
Diglett dug deep into the bare earth floor. Bulbasaur stumbled on the hole and  
  
fell to the floor. The dirt surrounding the hole filled the opening, hiding  
  
Diglett from sight.  
  
"Make it bow by tackling it now," commanded Seymour.  
  
"Pull yourself up from the ground with vine whip on the rafters."  
  
Bulbasaur extended its vines to the rafters, wrapping around the beams several  
  
times. Bulbasaur pulled himself up out of harm's way as Diglett surfaced to  
  
attack Bulbasaur. Finding that its opponent had disappeared, Diglett became  
  
slightly confused. Bulbasaur finally finished pulling himself up into the  
  
rafters and out of sight.  
  
"This match really matters, Bulbasaur's up in the rafters!" exclaimed Seymour.  
  
"Growl," ordered Ross, getting ever more frustrated with Seymour's repetitive  
  
rhyming.  
  
Diglett looked up, but didn't see a single trace of Bulbasaur. But Diglett  
  
sure HEARD him. Bulbasaur's growl echoed in the huge, empty stadium, making  
  
Ross's pokemon sound much bigger and stronger. Diglett was terrified by the  
  
enormous sound and started to dig like crazy into the ground.  
  
"Will you just slow, it's only an echo!"  
  
But Diglett refused to leave its underground refuge. Finally, Seymour had no  
  
choice but to forfeit.  
  
"Your wisdom exceeds beyond your years, you managed to bring my Diglett down to  
  
tears," proclaimed Seymour.  
  
"Will you please stop your constant rhyming!?! It's getting VERY old!"  
  
requested Ross.  
  
"Sorry," apologized Seymour, "Old habits die hard. Since you beat me, you  
  
shall receive an Earth Badge." Seymour pulled a yellow box out of his coat  
  
pocket and pushed a button.  
  
The overhead mobile started to spin and the 6th planet descended to the floor.  
  
Once it landed, the unusual orb rolled to Ross's feet. Ross picked it up and  
  
realized that it was a painted pokeball. Ross opened it and inside was a small,  
  
round pin, drawn like the Earth.  
  
"Take the Earth badge with pride and remember that knowledge is power," said  
  
Seymour. Ross was about to toss Seymour back the pokeball, but Seymour said,  
  
"Keep it, I've been working on these special Super balls, they're more powerful  
  
than even Ultra balls and will catch just about anything its beam is aimed at."  
  
"Thanks," said Ross as he turned to the exit.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Seymour's cell phone rang a couple times before he answered it.  
  
"How did it go?" asked the voice on the other end.  
  
"He won, just like the others," reported Seymour, "You still haven't explained  
  
to me what this is all about yet."  
  
"I wish I could tell you," said the voice, "But all that I know is that Ash and  
  
the others want those kids to be watched." Chapter 35-Into the Mountains  
  
With the second required badge pinned safely inside his coat, Ross got a map of  
  
the mountains and started down the trail that would lead him to the freezing  
  
mountain pass. Only at the end of that pass would he find Glacier Peak, home to  
  
the Ice Lord, leader of the local pokemon gym.  
  
The trip down the trail was uneventful, other trainers wanted to save their  
  
pokemon's strength since there was only a couple of pokemon centers even  
  
REMOTELY nearby. The temperature steadily dropped and Ross put on the parka he  
  
bought in Moon Town. Ross's pokemon didn't like the cold very much, so all of  
  
them went into their pokeballs.  
  
Ross carried on towards his goal, navigating by a map, sun, and dropping  
  
temperature. Soon, Ross turned a bend and saw snow on the ground. Ross was in  
  
awe at the splendor before him.  
  
Ross was eager to find an ice pokemon and began to jog down the pass when he  
  
slipped and started to slide down the hill on his backside. Ross was out of  
  
control and thought that he would never be able to stop. But after a while,  
  
Ross slowed down and eventually stopped.  
  
When he looked up, Ross was staring straight into the face of... Chapter 36-A Psychic Chill  
  
Himself. Ross looked around and saw that he was in an ice cavern where each  
  
surface was polished to reflect images. Ross looked one way and noticed what  
  
seemed to be a flock of Jynx.  
  
'But wild Jynx are usually solitary,' thought Ross. As he approached, he  
  
realized that he was actually seeing several reflections of the same, ALONE,  
  
Jynx.  
  
'If I fell for it, I wonder if that Jynx would,' thought Ross. Using his  
  
telepathy to mental pokemon, Ross read the Jynx's mind. (Or what there was.)  
  
'I am so beautiful,' thought the icy psychic, 'Who needs brains when you have  
  
got beauty? I probably better go get some food. Now, which way was out again.'  
  
Ross couldn't believe it, the Jynx was lost in the cave of mirrors. None of  
  
Ross's pokemon would appreciate a battle in the freezing cold, so Ross got  
  
another idea.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Jynx turned to go in the direction that it thought the exit was when it saw a  
  
strange creature with its back turned. Jynx started to back away when it saw  
  
another creature. And another. And another!  
  
Jynx looked around, it was surrounded. Jynx tried to make a run for it, but  
  
kept hitting a mirror. All of the creatures were turning around to face it.  
  
Jynx was getting really scared.  
  
All of the creatures stood to their full height. Some were Jynx's size, while  
  
others were over twenty feet tall. All of the creatures pulled out a red and  
  
white pokeball and prepared to throw them at Jynx.  
  
Jynx tried to ram one of the smaller creatures out of the way, but it wouldn't  
  
move and Jynx was too dizzy to fight. It seemed like a lot of the orbs were  
  
missing Jynx, but one of them wasn't missing.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ross walked over and picked up the pokeball containing the Jynx. Ross couldn't  
  
believe that the psychic pokemon thought that it was surrounded. Shrugging off  
  
the pokemon's ignorance, Ross followed his own footprints out of the cave. Chapter 37-On Ice  
  
Ross looked up at the sky. It had taken him longer to get out of the ice cave  
  
then he thought. It was getting late, and there was a pokemon center about half  
  
a mile away. Ross continued on his way until he reached the top of a hill.  
  
"According to the map," said Ross to himself, "The pokemon center should be  
  
right here."  
  
Ross looked around but didn't see any signs of life.  
  
'Where is it?' wondered Ross. Suddenly he felt the ground shake, three  
  
Digletts popped out of the snow in a group.  
  
"Dugtrio," said the three, cold moles in unison. Before Ross could respond to  
  
the pokemon, they dropped a note and disappeared back into the snow.  
  
Ross picked up the note and read it.  
  
'SOS. The snowflake pass pokemon center has been buried in an avalanche.  
  
Require assistance.  
  
Signed;  
  
Nurse Joy'  
  
Ross realized that the Dugtrio must have been in the center when it was buried  
  
and was sent for help. Ross pulled the shovel out of his backpack and started  
  
to dig.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
About an hour after he started, Ross reached a window of the pokemon center.  
  
There wasn't any one around to open the window so Ross tapped on the glass.  
  
Everyone inside jumped at the noise and turned to face the window.  
  
A girl about a year younger than Ross came and opened the window for him.  
  
"Somebody order a pizza," Ross joked.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Once everyone was out of the pokemon center, it took about another 2 hours to  
  
clear away the rest of the snow.  
  
After the pokemon center could let people in again, Ross checked in his pokemon  
  
for healing and went into the trainers' quarters. Ross was so tired that he  
  
just took off his shoes, climbed into bed fully clothed, and went to sleep. Chapter 38-Chill Out  
  
Ross woke up in the middle of the night. He had another nightmare.  
  
In this one, Ross was dressed in earth-tones, battling off about twenty members  
  
of Team Rocket. Ross wasn't doing well. All of his pokemon had fainted and he  
  
was getting tired. One of the Team Rocket members threw a net onto Ross,  
  
restraining him from fighting back. Ross looked around at the Rocket's laughing  
  
up their success and one of them, was Adam.  
  
Ross looked around, everyone else was still asleep. Ross started to calm down  
  
when he heard a noise coming from up front.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Be quiet," hissed Jill, "This is supposed to be a covert operation."  
  
"Yeah Jack," whispered Meowth, "We're supposed to be cat buglers remember?"  
  
"Sorry," apologized James before he tripped on a wire and landed with a thud.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ross definitely knew that something was up, so he pulled on his shoes and  
  
walked through the door.  
  
"Hello?" asked Ross.  
  
"Get DOWN!" ordered a voice a little too loudly.  
  
"Who's there?" inquired Ross. Ross heard some more whispering and arguing.  
  
Suddenly, Ross felt two pairs of hands trying to hold him down on the floor by  
  
pinning his shoulders and covering his mouth. Ross used a comet punch to break  
  
free of his captors. It was difficult for Ross to see but apparently his  
  
captors were now trying to capture each other.  
  
Ross decided that he had better hide from his adversaries but encountered a  
  
small pokemon covered with fur. The strange pokemon started to swing its claws  
  
at Ross. Ross couldn't see very well, but its adversary seemed to be able to  
  
see him very well. Ross threw the pokemon to the floor and listened closely.  
  
Ross didn't hear the two larger figures fighting anymore.  
  
Ross noticed a something coming up from his legs. Ross did a double kick and  
  
sent the small pokemon into the two dark figures. While the three figures were  
  
dazed, Ross reached for the light switch.  
  
By the time Ross had gotten the lights on, all Ross could see was the front  
  
door flapping in the snowy wind. The rest of the lobby was fine, and there was  
  
no noticeable marks on himself.  
  
Ross closed the door and decided to just go to bed and forget about the event.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"I can't believe that we blew it AGAIN!!!" exclaimed Jill.  
  
"I guess we will just have to get that bird on our own," Jack said calmly.  
  
"Yeah RIGHT!" said Meowth, "Two poison and one normal pokemon against a wild  
  
Ice pokemon in its home!?!"  
  
"We will either catch it," proclaimed Jack in a noble voice, "or one of us will  
  
die in the attempt!"  
  
"Give me Articuno or give me DEATH!" quoted Jill.  
  
The two trainers looked at the Meowth. "I'll see you two at the bottom of the  
  
mountain," said the small cat as it tried to run down the mountainside.  
  
Jack grabbed the cowardly cat by the back of its neck and proceeded to drag it  
  
up the mountain. Chapter 39-Icy Battle  
  
Ross left the pokemon center in high hopes. Glacier Peak was only about an  
  
hour's march away and was within sight. Ross only had one problem.  
  
He didn't know which mountain it was. Ross knew that it was one of two  
  
mountains. One of them was home of the ice gym, while the other one was empty.  
  
Both paths seemed equally used, and the sign post was broken beyond definition.  
  
Ross knew that a wrong choice would result in the loss of an entire day. Ross  
  
stopped and took a break while he thought about which way to go. He closed his  
  
eyes and fell into a trance.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
A boy and girl in Team Rocket uniforms were climbing a cliff with a Meowth.  
  
"Hurry up!" ordered girl, "It's only a little further."  
  
"I'm tired," complained Meowth, "Can't we take a break?"  
  
"NO!!!" replied its human companions in unison.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"There it is," proclaimed the male, "The old bird itself."  
  
"Time to catch," instructed the female, "or time to die!"  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ross's eyes popped open at the statement made by the female member of Team  
  
Rocket in his vision.  
  
'They must be MAD!!! Climbing a mountain like that,' thought Ross, "I have to  
  
try and stop them." And without a second thought, Ross bolted for the mountain  
  
on the left.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
About an hour later, Ross was on the cliff that he saw the two members of Team  
  
Rocket on in his vision. At first Ross thought that he imagined the whole  
  
vision, when he heard a terrified war cry of a pokemon.  
  
"CUUUUNNNNNOOOOO!!!!!!" hollered the pokemon.  
  
Ross looked up and saw a beautiful blue bird flying around a floating purple  
  
sphere.  
  
"Kof-fing," said the sphere.  
  
The blue bird wasn't doing to well and retreated out of Ross's sight. Ross  
  
climbed over the top of the cliff's edge and saw three pokemon fighting a blue  
  
bird, a snake, a cat, and the purple ball.  
  
Ross saw two people watching the fight and trying to throw pokeballs at the  
  
blue bird, but each time, the bird escaped. The couple was getting frustrated  
  
and stared to shoot riffles at the bird.  
  
The bird fell out of the sky with blood flowing out of its left wing. The pair  
  
each threw another pokeball at the injured bird but again failed to capture it.  
  
The girl walked up to the fallen bird, put her riffle to the bird's head and  
  
said, "If we can't have it, then no one will!"  
  
"NNNNOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" hollered Ross as he charged up at the Team Rocket member  
  
ready to kill Articuno. Ross leaped into the air and did a round house in  
  
midair, kicking the female Rocket away from the precious bird.  
  
"Who do you think YOU are kid?" demanded the other human while the female sat  
  
up.  
  
"I am Ross Jacobsen, and I say that you can't kill a pokemon just because you  
  
can't catch it!"  
  
"YOU'RE the brat that our boss wants taken care of!?!" asked the girl who now  
  
had an imprint of Ross's shoe on her face.  
  
"Mind your blood pressure Jill," warned her friend.  
  
"SHUT UP Jack!" commanded Jill, "I'm gonna teach junior here a lesson! Ekans,  
  
wrap this loser."  
  
Ekans leapt to the attack, but Ross used double kick to make Ekans fly into the  
  
mountain wall instead.  
  
"Koffing, tackle!" ordered Jack.  
  
The purple ball charged at Ross but was knocked into the nest by Ross's comet  
  
punch. Koffing was dazed, but floated up and knocked an egg out of the nest in  
  
the process.  
  
"CU!" cried the blue bird as it tried to fly to save the egg as it rolled to  
  
the cliff. Articuno got two feet before its wing gave out, leaving Articuno  
  
unable to save the egg.  
  
Team Rocket tried to stop the egg, ran into each other.  
  
"Spearow, GO!!! Save the egg!!!" commanded Ross.  
  
Spearow emerged from the pokeball and flew for the egg. The egg was getting  
  
closer to the edge as Spearow approached the egg. The egg seemed to float in  
  
the air for an eternity before it dropped over the edge. Spearow dived out of  
  
sight after the egg.  
  
It was one of those moments that seem to last a lifetime. Time stood still for  
  
everyone on that plateau. The world seemed to be white around that solitary  
  
cliff face. Chapter 40-Saved Or Scrambled?  
  
Everyone wondered if Ross's Spearow had been fast enough to save the egg.  
  
Finally, a bird pokemon became visible over the edge of the cliff, but it wasn't  
  
Spearow.  
  
"Fea-ROW!!!" exclaimed the bird, but Ross, Articuno, and Meowth heard it ask,  
  
"Miss me?" Before anyone could ask the result of Articuno's egg, they noticed  
  
that Fearow was carrying something in its talons. Articuno's egg!!!  
  
Jack and Jill ordered their pokemon to attack Spearow, Ross, and Articuno, but  
  
they had a slight problem. Ekans, Koffing, and Meowth were very weak from the  
  
cold and their last battle with Articuno.  
  
Jack and Jill charged at Ross and Articuno, but Ross moved himself and Articuno  
  
out of harm's way. Jack and Jill tried to stop, but collided with the mountain  
  
wall, tangled in a heap with their pokemon.  
  
'Now's our chance,' thought Ross.  
  
Ross took the egg from Fearow and with Articuno under his arm, climbed onto  
  
Fearow and instructed him to fly to the second mountain. Chapter 41-Articuno's Agony  
  
Fearow landed gracefully on Glacier Peak. Ross ran into the simple town's  
  
pokemon center, hoping that there was still a chance to save the adult Articuno.  
  
The nurse went into the emergency room with the rare blue bird. Ross sat in  
  
the lobby, holding the unborn egg in his backpack, wondering if it would have a  
  
parent to teach it how to survive or not.  
  
Even though he arrived in time to compete, Ross decided not to go to the  
  
pokemon gym that day. He had to know the moment Articuno's verdict came in.  
  
The nurse was in the back room for a long time. Many trainers came and left  
  
that day, but none of them felt like Ross did. Ross was feeling so lonely that  
  
he called home and withdrew one of his pokedolls to hug. He just rocked back  
  
and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Just hoping and waiting.  
  
Ross had many wonders that day. Why did Team Rocket do things like this? Why  
  
was he stuck saving the egg? Why, why, WHY?  
  
The door to the Emergency Room finally opened and the nurse stepped out. She  
  
didn't look very happy. Ross walked over and realized what it was before she  
  
even said a word.  
  
"I'm afraid that we can't save Articuno," explained the nurse, "We plan to give  
  
it a sedative so that it will die peacefully in its sleep. If you would like,  
  
you can come in as we administer it."  
  
"Okay," Ross said glumly. He felt like crying, but took the small egg into the  
  
emergency room.  
  
Inside the emergency room, Ross saw all sorts of equipment. On the main  
  
operating table, the once proud Articuno laid. Only one doctor was in the  
  
emergency room with a needle and bottle.  
  
The man inserted the needle into the bottle and filled it with a green  
  
chemical. Articuno watched as the doctor did this and insert the needle into  
  
Articuno's good wing. The doctor did his best to smile, but clearly took no joy  
  
in killing a creature. Ross asked to be alone with Articuno and the doctor  
  
respectfully left.  
  
Ross called out Jynx to translate since Ross didn't understand Articuno.  
  
Articuno talked weakly and Jynx thought, 'I know that I am going to die soon,  
  
could I please have my egg with me when I die?'  
  
Ross set the egg next to Articuno. 'Thank you. When I'm gone, I want you to  
  
take care of my hatchling. Will you do this for me?' thought Jynx as Articuno  
  
spoke.  
  
"I will," promised Ross.  
  
'Thank you,' thought Jynx before Articuno started to sing a song. Ross  
  
listened to the song being played in Jynx's mind. The song grew softer and  
  
softer until at the end, the mighty bird died.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Some of the humans said that they were all scared of an upcoming traveling  
  
convention. Some said that a great trainer had come to capture them all.  
  
Others say that the spirit of the range had died at that moment. Whatever the  
  
reason, all of the pokemon in that mountain range became as silent as stone.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ross stepped out of the ER and heard the nurse talking to someone on the phone.  
  
"He brought in the bird, hoping that it could be saved, we managed to, but gave  
  
it a sedative to make it easier to handle and make the kid think that it died,"  
  
explained the nurse, "We'll transfer the bird over to you for analysis." There  
  
was a pause.  
  
"We think that the Articuno laid an egg recently that should hatch soon if it  
  
hasn't already. I'll be asking the kid if he saw it, and if he did, I'll  
  
convince him to tell us where." Another pause. "Okay, bye."  
  
Ross walked back into the ER before the nurse or anyone else saw him. Chapter 42-The New Story Of What Happened  
  
Ross was in the training room trying to work out some of the aggression he had  
  
developed over the loss of Articuno and the treachery of the nurse and doctor.  
  
Ross had put his backpack containing the egg into a cabinet for training gear.  
  
Ross's mind was full of more whys. Why did he take that path? Why did he send  
  
Spearow to save the egg? Why did the nurse do this?  
  
All of the questions was making Ross angry. Finally, he extended both of his  
  
fists at a dummy. the dummy was knocked back, but another dummy behind it also  
  
fell over without being touched by Ross or anything else. Ross pulled out his  
  
pokedex and analyzed the dummy.  
  
"There is residual energy of the attack referred to as psychic," explained the  
  
computer.  
  
Ross was going to attack some more dummies when the nurse from up front named  
  
Jackie came in.  
  
"Been taking out some aggression?" asked Jackie.  
  
"Yeah," replied Ross.  
  
"We've done some tests on Articuno's body and have reason to believe that it  
  
recently laid an egg," explained the nurse, "Exactly what happened?"  
  
"Well," started Ross, "I was on my way here to battle the gym leader for a  
  
badge when I got mixed up and climbed the wrong mountain. I encountered a squad  
  
of Team Rocket fighting an Articuno. They weren't able to catch it, even when  
  
they shot it with guns. They got steamed and got ready to kill the bird by  
  
shooting it in the head. I ran in and messed up the shot. They sent their  
  
pokemon after me and an egg got knocked out of the nest during the fight.  
  
Everyone tried to stop it, but the egg rolled over the edge. While Team Rocket  
  
was in shock, I grabbed Articuno and flew over here on my Fearow."  
  
Ross kept a straight face as the nurse scrutinized his face. "What a shame,"  
  
said the nurse, "That may have been the last wild Articuno egg."  
  
Jackie left with a fake glum face while Ross did his best to maintain a  
  
straight face. "I'll bet," said Ross as he punched a nearby dummy. The dummy  
  
developed a thin coat of ice.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Nah, he's clueless," reported Jackie.  
  
"What a shame," said a dark figure on the screen, "Another Articuno would have  
  
been most beneficial. Even if it was just an egg."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ross sat on the bench in the corner of the room. According to his pokedex, the  
  
best way to hatch any pokemon is to keep it near a heat source at all times. So  
  
Ross put the egg under his parka and zipped it up.  
  
That night he had another nightmare. In this one, Ross was being attacked by  
  
the adult Articuno he took to the pokemon center that day and was having trouble  
  
until another Articuno flew in front of him. The larger Articuno just laughed  
  
until a red bird joined the smaller Articuno, then a yellow one.  
  
The large Articuno called out and another pokemon took to the field. This one  
  
was large and looked like a Mew on steroids. The unusual Mew launched some sort  
  
of attack and knocked out all three of the birds before turning to Ross.  
  
Ross woke up in another cold sweat and checked for the egg. It was there, and  
  
Ross couldn't help but wonder, what was causing all of these nightmares. Chapter 43-The Ice Badge  
  
Ross awoke the next morning ready to get his new badge and out of town. Ross  
  
packed up and checked his supplies, he had enough to get him through the next  
  
six days. Fortunately, Cerulean City was 3 days away, so Ross didn't have to  
  
buy more supplies in the creepy town of Glacier Peak.  
  
Ross left the pokemon center and proceeded to the largest building of town.  
  
Adorned in pictures of ice pokemon, snowflakes, and icicles, the main gym was  
  
cold and the floor was covered with snow. At the opposite end of the gym floor  
  
was a man dressed in white.  
  
"I am the Ice Lord, leader of this gym, do you wish to battle me?" inquired the  
  
man. By now, Ross was getting a little annoyed by this entire town.  
  
"No, I came were because my drink is warm," Ross said sarcastically, "Of course  
  
I came here for a badge battle."  
  
"Very well, 2 on 2," explained Ice Lord, "My first pokemon will be Lapras."  
  
A massive pokemon waddled out into position.  
  
"My first pokemon will be Charmander, GO!!!" cried Ross.  
  
The fire lizard walked out, ready to battle.  
  
"Lapras, start with a body slam," instructed Ice Lord.  
  
"Charmander, ember," said Ross.  
  
Lapras tried to do as he was instructed, but body slammed the ember instead.  
  
Lapras was severely burned.  
  
"Lapras, mist."  
  
"Charmander, slash."  
  
The room started to fill with a light mist, making it a little difficult to see  
  
clearly. Charmander still slashed at Lapras's burn, making it worse.  
  
Lapras hadn't fainted, but it would before too much longer. The Ice Lord must  
  
have realized this because he called back Lapras and sent out a large shell.  
  
The Cloyster opened straight down the middle to reveal a pair of eyes.  
  
"Cloyster, spike cannon."  
  
"Charmander, rage!"  
  
Cloyster launched volley after volley of spike going straight at Charmander.  
  
Most of them hit Charmander, making him really mad.  
  
Charmander attacked Cloyster over and over, but couldn't get through Cloyster's  
  
tough shell.  
  
"Cloyster, use supersonic."  
  
"Keep attacking Cloyster."  
  
Cloyster made a strange noise that confused Charmander. Charmander started to  
  
attack a picture on the wall. Charmander started to get annoyed by the  
  
unaffected Cloyster.  
  
"Cloyster, clamp Charmander's body with your shell."  
  
"Charmander, look out behind you!" warned Ross.  
  
But it was too late, Charmander was restrained in Cloyster's shell and couldn't  
  
break free.  
  
"Charmander, return," said Ross, "Hitmonlee, GO!!!"  
  
"Cloyster, withdraw."  
  
"Hitmonlee, rolling kick.  
  
Cloyster closed its shell to hide from Hitmonlee, but was launched up into the  
  
ceiling before falling to the floor. Cloyster's shell had a crack and icicles  
  
started to fall from the ceiling.  
  
"Cloyster, stay in your shell!"  
  
"Use Cloyster as an umbrella for the icicles," instructed Ross.  
  
Hitmonlee picked up the motionless Cloyster and held it over his head. Icicles  
  
fell all over the place and the two trainers had to dodge the icicles  
  
themselves.  
  
Hitmonlee ran around in a blind panic, carrying Cloyster around for the ride.  
  
Hitmonlee soon tripped over a chunk of ice that broke off of an icicle.  
  
Cloyster rolled on its shell until it stopped right under a huge icicle.  
  
Cloyster chanced a peek out of its shell. When it saw the huge icicle over it  
  
getting ready to fall, it cried out in terror, "CLOY-STER!!!!"  
  
Ross and the Ice Lord turned around to see Cloyster about to be crushed by the  
  
icicle as it slipped from its position. Both ran over to Cloyster, but the gym  
  
leader tripped over Hitmonlee as he stood up. The last bit of ice holding the  
  
icicle in place broke away, releasing the heavy object straight at the bivalve.  
  
If it landed on Cloyster, it would mean certain DEATH!  
  
The icicle got closer to the doomed pokemon as Ross dived for it. Ross  
  
snatched the Cloyster and began to roll out of the path of the largest icicle.  
  
CRASH!  
  
When Ross opened his eyes, he was upside-down against the wall. The massive  
  
icicle had broken into several pieces and only one small icicle was still on the  
  
ceiling.  
  
Hitmonlee and the Ice Lord were by his side. "You risked your life to save my  
  
pokemon," said the large man, "I don't know what to say."  
  
"It was nothing," Ross said as he grabbed at his backpack that fell off when he  
  
dived for Cloyster. Looking inside, he saw that the precious Articuno egg was  
  
still whole.  
  
"I don't think that Cloyster should battle after its near death experience,"  
  
explained the Ice Lord, "So take the Ice Badge." He reached into a snow hill in  
  
the corner and pulled out a small metal snowflake.  
  
Ross reached up and took it from the white clothed man. "Thank you," said  
  
Ross.  
  
"No," said the tall figure, "Thank YOU for saving my Cloyster's life." Ross  
  
left the gym and under his breath, the Ice Lord said, "I'm sorry that I took  
  
your Articuno." Chapter 44-The Day Of Traps  
  
With the Ice Badge now in his possession, Ross considered his next move. He  
  
could either stay for the traveling convention in a few days, or leave for one  
  
of Cerulean's fire badges.  
  
Ross figured that the convention would reach Cerulean about the same time as  
  
him and he had enough supplies to last him. Not to mention that the Articuno  
  
egg would probably hatch soon and Ross didn't like the thought of staying in the  
  
creepy town when that happened.  
  
Ross started down the trail to his next destination, keeping an eye open for  
  
any new pokemon. The hike was fairly quiet. Ross didn't see any pokemon or  
  
trainers. Ross noticed that the temperature was getting steadily warmer as he  
  
descended from the mountains.  
  
Ross watched around him as the terrain surrounding him changed from snow, to  
  
rocky, and then to forest. Ross stopped for a rest and did a little fishing.  
  
After an hour without any luck, Ross tried to continue on his way but was  
  
stopped by two figures.  
  
"Prepare for trouble," said a familiar voice.  
  
"And make it double," said another voice.  
  
"To protect the world from devastation."  
  
"To unite all people within our nation."  
  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."  
  
"To extend our reach to the stars above."  
  
"Jill!" reminded the first voice.  
  
"Jack!" stated the second voice.  
  
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light," proclaimed Jill.  
  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" ordered Jack.  
  
"Meowth, that's right! MAN, is it good to be out of that SNOW!!!" hollered  
  
the familiar cat.  
  
"What do you want?" asked Ross, "I'm kind of in a hurry."  
  
"We want your pokemon," said Jack in a matter-of-fact voice.  
  
"And revenge for kicking me in the face!" added Jill.  
  
"You're not getting any of my pokemon!" proclaimed Ross.  
  
"Wrong," said Meowth, "All we have to do is catch you and your pokemon will be  
  
as good as ours."  
  
"I don't think so," said Ross.  
  
"Oh yeah," said Jill, "Try this!"  
  
Jill threw a net at Ross, catching him off guard. Ross got tangled up in the  
  
net and was unable to get up.  
  
"That was easier than I thought it would be," said Jack.  
  
"Guess again," said Ross as he vanished from under the net.  
  
"Where'd he go?" asked Meowth.  
  
"How should I know?" answered Jack.  
  
"He has to be somewhere," said Jill, "Spread out and find him."  
  
Jack, Jill, and Meowth walked off in different directions while Ross watched  
  
from the tree he teleported into. Ross was getting a little sick of having to  
  
deal with Team Rocket every other day.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Later that day, Ross fell into three holes and hung up in two tree nets. When  
  
it was time to set up camp, Ross wondered what he should do since he might get a  
  
visit from Jack and Jill while he slept.  
  
When Ross got caught in a third net, he got an idea. After he teleported out,  
  
Ross dragged the net along, looking for a good campsite.  
  
About 20 minutes later, Ross was sleeping peacefully high in a tree in the  
  
makeshift hammock that he made from the net Team Rocket left for a trap.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Just like the past few nights, Ross had another dream, but it wasn't a  
  
nightmare like the others. Ross was in some sort of room, looking at a mural.  
  
The mural depicted three birds and a large red dog. A young man in earth tones  
  
was wearing several symbols on his jacket and surrounded by many Rs. The young  
  
man was then standing alone with his hand in some sort of stone door without any  
  
handles. In the last scene, the man was in a garden, surrounded by pokemon.  
  
When Ross awoke from this dream, he was seriously puzzled. What was causing  
  
all of these strange dreams? Was he going insane? He decided that once he got  
  
to Cerulean City that he would have a check-up.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"How can he just disappear like that?" asked Jill.  
  
"Who knows," said Meowth, "I just know that I don't want to see him again."  
  
"Well you're going to be seeing a lot of him because we're going to follow him  
  
until we can catch him," proclaimed Jack. Chapter 45-The Chase Is On  
  
Ross awoke with the sun. He had to get up early if he wanted to stay ahead of  
  
the Rockets.  
  
Ross checked the Articuno egg while he pulled down the net hammock. The egg  
  
was getting very warm.  
  
When Ross got done packing up, he read up on how to raise baby bird pokemon  
  
during his journey to Cerulean City.  
  
Ross got slowed down by a few more traps before he started to encounter  
  
trainers that wanted to battle him. Ross beat them and continued on his way.  
  
About half-way through the forest, Ross heard Jack's and Jill's voices.  
  
"To protect the world from devastation," said Jill.  
  
"To unite all people within our, you know what, I'm getting really sick of  
  
saying this stupid poem," said Jack.  
  
This statement threw off Jill and Meowth who started to yell at him.  
  
'I better get out of here when I can,' thought Ross before taking off into the  
  
forest.  
  
"Stop him!" hollered Jill. The three members of Team Rocket started to chase  
  
Ross through the forest.  
  
Ross darted between trees, over logs, and past a few packs of wild pokemon.  
  
Still, the determined group chased Ross.  
  
Ross encountered a bridge spanning a canyon with a raging river below. The  
  
bridge was old and decaying. Ross thought twice about trying to cross it.  
  
"There he is," proclaimed Meowth behind Ross. That was all Ross needed to  
  
know.  
  
Ross took a deep breath and charged across the river. All of the boards  
  
creaked under Ross's pounding footsteps. The creaking was even louder behind  
  
Ross as Team Rocket followed him.  
  
Ross was halfway across the bridge when...  
  
CRACK!  
  
The boards underneath him broke away.  
  
Ross was hanging on to the right support rope.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Well, isn't THIS a pretty picture?" asked a sarcastic Jill.  
  
"Heh, he's at the end of his rope now," commented Meowth, "There's the egg! In  
  
his coat!"  
  
"I'll get it," said Jack as he leaned over to remove the egg. Suddenly, Jack  
  
felt the board beneath him shake.  
  
"What was that?" asked Meowth.  
  
"It's the kid," exclaimed Jack, "He's kicking the boards under us!" The boards  
  
started to creak as the boards shook again.  
  
"I don't like the sound of that," said Jill.  
  
SNAP!!!  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ross watched as the three figures fell the long drop to the river and the  
  
bridge fell vertical, hanging from the right side.  
  
"We'll be back," warned Meowth, "and Articuno WILL be OURS!!!!"  
  
SPLASH!!!  
  
Ross looked at the boards that Team Rocket was standing on. All of them were  
  
still in one piece. It was the left support rope that had broken. Something  
  
was stuck in the boards the Team Rocket were standing on. Ross pulled it out  
  
and saw that it was some paper.  
  
Facing the other end of the bridge, Ross worked his way to safety. If he  
  
hurried, he might be able to get a decent head start on the Rockets.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"This is all your fault!" accused Jill.  
  
"I don't think that pointing fingers is going to help us get out of this  
  
river," said Jack simply.  
  
"I don't care if it's going to help," yelled Jill, "I just want to make it  
  
clear that its your fault."  
  
"I'd hate to interrupt your little argue-fest but we have a small problem,"  
  
warned Meowth.  
  
"What is it Meowth?" asked Jack.  
  
"A really BIG WATERFALL!!!!!!" answered Meowth.  
  
"This is going to hurt," said Jill as the trio fell over the crest of water to  
  
the rocks below. Chapter 46-Paperwork  
  
When Ross got to the other side of the bridge, he examined the papers that he  
  
obtained from the bridge. The first one was a letter, while the second one was  
  
labeled 'The Rocket Gazette.'  
  
Ross decided to let his pokemon have some fresh air while he examined read the  
  
letter and newspaper.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Dear fellow members of Team Rocket; Thanks to the effort of the fake pokemon center at Glacier Peak, we have  
  
already obtained an Articuno and the extremely rare Mewtwo. These along will be  
  
given to the new leader of the Viridian Gym, hand chosen by myself. Other  
  
pokemon that have been stolen will be enclosed for some of you.  
  
Enclosed you will find a copy of our newspaper. There are some fairly  
  
interesting changes taking place, including where you can obtain copies of  
  
future issues.  
  
Our base of operations has been moved to the Celadon City Game Corner's  
  
basement. Just show your Rocket Badge to the cashier and she'll let you in.  
  
Finally, I want every member in the area to remember that we will be robbing  
  
the pokemon convention on its last day in Cerulean City. That's June 25th for  
  
those of you that don't know. We hope that we will have success on this day.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Giovanni  
  
Second-in-command  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ross was amazed. Team Rocket was getting bolder and braver.  
  
'Let's see here,' thought Ross to himself as he read the newspaper.  
  
'New members, Nick Grahm and Mike Crosby,' read Ross, 'Last I heard of them,  
  
they were on Team Rocket's blacklist.'  
  
Moving on to the next few articles, Ross read about more detailed plans for the  
  
raid at the convention, success stories, locations of 'Rocket Gazette'  
  
distributors, and even found a few puzzles and comics!  
  
Finally, Ross read the last article about a tournament in a couple months to  
  
choose the new leader of Viridian City gym as accustomed by the rules of the  
  
pokemon league.  
  
"Let's see here," said Ross to himself, "Today is the 22nd, so we better hurry  
  
if we're going to get to Cerulean in time to warn them about the convention."  
  
Everyone went back into their pokeballs while Ross put away the papers and ran  
  
off for the city in trouble. Chapter 47-Welcome To My Nightmare  
  
Ross was walking down the road when he heard voices from all around him. All  
  
of which he knew.  
  
"Prepare for trouble," said the first voice.  
  
"And make it double double," said the second voice.  
  
"To protect the world from devastation," said a third voice.  
  
"To unite all people within our nation," said a fourth voice.  
  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love," proclaimed the first voice.  
  
"To extend our reach to the stars above," stated the second voice.  
  
"Bonnie," said the first voice.  
  
"Clyde," reminded the second voice.  
  
"Lee," stated the third voice.  
  
"Christian," spoke the last voice.  
  
All of the Rockets jumped out of trees on opposite sides of Ross.  
  
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light," commanded Lee.  
  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" ordered Christian.  
  
"Meowth," said a voice over Ross's head. He looked up and saw a Meowth jump  
  
from an overhanging branch at him. "That's right!"  
  
Ross calmly stepped aside and Meowth landed flat on its face!  
  
"We have GOT to talk to the boss about changing pokemon translators," commented  
  
Lee. All of the Rockets agreed while Meowth spit out a mouthful of dirt.  
  
"I'm kind of in a hurry," said Ross, "So I'll just see you all later." Ross  
  
tried to walk away, but was stopped by a group of three Magnemites.  
  
"We don't think so kid," commanded Clyde.  
  
"Magneton, relieve our friend of his pokemon," instructed Bonnie.  
  
Magneton started to vibrate and all of the pokeballs on Ross's belt flew onto  
  
Magneton's body.  
  
"NO!" yelled Ross as he started to charge at the pokemon. Suddenly, Ross felt  
  
something pulling him back. he turned around and saw Christian holding a rope  
  
leading to a noose around his chest. He could feel the Articuno egg hidden in  
  
his jacket slipping out.  
  
The last thing Ross felt was something hit him on the head before he faded out  
  
of consciousness.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
When Ross came to, he was upside-down in a tree. Ross saw a Primeape looking  
  
up at him from the ground, and it didn't look to happy to see him. The Primeape  
  
leapt from the ground, ready to start thrashing at Ross. Chapter 48-Operation: Retrieval  
  
Ross tried to use teleport, but wound up landing on his head, still tied up,  
  
with the tail end of a rope dragging behind him. Primeape was not about to let  
  
Ross get away and started to use fury swipes at him.  
  
Most of his swings hit the rope restraining Ross. The weakened rope, broke  
  
easily when Ross used the mega punch that he learned.  
  
Primeape, not impressed, ran up to deliver a karate chop to Ross. Ross  
  
responded by using Psychic. Primeape took serious damage and was unable to stop  
  
Ross as he ran away.  
  
Ross sat down and tried to figure out what to do. Team Rocket had apparently  
  
picked him clean. He had no money, no supplies, and no pokemon. Ross started  
  
to meditate and had a vision.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
He saw Team Rocket with Magneton and all of Ross's rightful possessions.  
  
"That was too easy!" proclaimed Christian.  
  
"No kidding," said Lee.  
  
"Just where are we going again?" asked Meowth.  
  
Bonnie knocked Meowth on the head while Clyde said, "How many time do we have  
  
to tell you? We're going to heal the pokemon at the pokemon center before we  
  
present them to the boss!"  
  
"Oh yeah," said Meowth as he remembered, "But isn't it getting a little late to  
  
reach Cerulean?"  
  
Lee looked up and said, "Good point, that Ross kid will never find us! We'll  
  
camp here for the night."  
  
************************************************************************ Ross's  
  
eyes popped open. He got up and ran to the place that he saw the Rockets at in  
  
his vision.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
The last few embers were still glowing when Ross arrived. The air was filled  
  
with the stench of repel and corruption. Four tents were set up while the  
  
pokemon were sleeping by the fire. Ross looked around and saw all of his stuff,  
  
including the unhatched Articuno egg. Team Rocket had hung it in the net Ross  
  
took from the trap.  
  
Ross knew that most members of Team Rocket were pretty dense, but no one was  
  
THAT dumb. Several pokemon live in trees, and getting his stuff down would be  
  
no sweat for any human. There had to be a catch.  
  
Ross looked at the rope used to hold up the net. There were a few bells  
  
clipped on, but they would be easy for a human to avoid. The tree was a young  
  
strong tree. The ground around it was a deep brown.  
  
Ross looked at his net again and saw his shovel. Then it struck him! Team  
  
Rocket's most famous trap was a pit!  
  
Ross examined the ground and saw that there was light brown soil around the  
  
darker soil under the net. The pit was right under the net.  
  
After simply walking around the hidden hole, Ross noticed that the tree had  
  
been carved at by something, but he couldn't tell what until he listened to the  
  
snoring humans and pokemon. It sounded just like sawing logs!  
  
Team Rocket must have been sawing the tree so that it would fall over if anyone  
  
tried to climb it from the wrong angle. Ross climbed on the side with all of  
  
the scratches in the bark so that the tree would support his weight.  
  
Ross cat-walked across the limb that held his supplies and removed the bells  
  
one at a time. Once all of the bells were off, Ross noticed movement by the  
  
fire.  
  
Ross slowly climbed down the net to hide behind his supplies while Meowth  
  
blinked sleepily over at Ross and the supplies. Meowth yawned a couple of times  
  
before he closed his eyes and rejoined the chorus of snores.  
  
Ross let out a sigh of relief and thought, 'THAT was way too close.' He  
  
climbed back up to the branch and pulled up his supplies before he undid the  
  
knot that held the net to the tree. Ross slowly climbed down the tree, took one  
  
last glance at the camp, and disappeared into the forest. Chapter 49-Back To Civilization  
  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE LOOT IS GONE!?!" demanded Bonnie.  
  
Ross leaped 5 feet into the air when he heard Bonnie's angry voice. He put at  
  
least a mile between him and Team Rocket before setting up his net hammock. So  
  
he was naturally surprised when he heard Bonnie's yell through the deep forest.  
  
Ross figured that Team Rocket would be coming after him soon, so he packed up  
  
his gear and continued to travel to Cerulean City.  
  
Ross thought that he might be able to lose the Team Rocket squads in Cerulean  
  
City if he got there soon enough before them.  
  
After three hours of running and breaks, Ross arrived in Cerulean City. Ross  
  
checked into the pokemon center, wrote a letter to go with the Team Rocket  
  
papers, and got himself a bite to eat.  
  
Once Ross got back his pokemon, his first stop was the police station. Team  
  
Rocket was scheduled to rob the convention tomorrow, and Ross hadn't delivered  
  
the information to the police yet!  
  
Ross walked into the police station, obsessed with being discreet. He waited  
  
until no one was looking and dropped an envelope onto the front desk.  
  
Once Ross was out of the police station, he walked down the street to go to the  
  
pokemon convention when he felt something under his coat shake. It was the  
  
Articuno egg! It was hatching!  
  
Ross stepped into a side alley and removed the egg from his coat. The crystal  
  
blue egg had a crack starting to develop. Ross watched in amazement as a tiny  
  
point poked through the shell, making more cracks. The tiny beak pecked through  
  
the shell in another location. And another, and another until the egg had about  
  
ten holes in it.  
  
Finally, the beak poked through the shell in one last place, letting the egg  
  
shell fall apart. The baby bird opened its small eyes and beheld its savior.  
  
"Mama?" chirped the tiny bird.  
  
Ross suddenly realized that he had a big problem. "I'm afraid that your mother  
  
is missing," explained Ross, "She left you in my care."  
  
The little bird looked slightly disappointed, but asked, "Will I see her?"  
  
"Someday," answered Ross, "I'm afraid that you should keep out of sight for a  
  
while."  
  
"Why?" asked the inquisitive Articuno.  
  
"Right now, we are in a city," explained Ross, "There are a lot of people that  
  
would love the chance to get their hands on you."  
  
The little bird looked satisfied with this answer and said, "I'm hungry."  
  
Ross just smiled and pulled his sack of pokemon food out of his backpack.  
  
"Here," said Ross, holding out a few pieces of food, "This is good for you."  
  
Articuno hopped onto Ross's arm and began to eat from his hand. Ross relaxed  
  
until Articuno had eaten its fill and climbed into his warm coat. Ross stood  
  
up, supporting Articuno with his hands in his pockets, and walked back to the  
  
pokemon center. Chapter 50-A Helping Hand  
  
Ross walked into the pokemon center and called the Nurse Joy at the Pallet Town  
  
pokemon center.  
  
"Pallet Town pokemon center, Nurse Joy speaking," said Joy as her face appeared  
  
on the screen, "Oh, hi Ross. How are you doing?"  
  
"To tell the truth, I've been better," replied Ross.  
  
"What's wrong?" asked Nurse Joy. When the baby Articuno popped its head out of  
  
Ross's coat, Joy asked, "Where did you get that Articuno!?!"  
  
"Well, it all started when I got mixed up in the mountains," started Ross, "I  
  
climbed a mountain next to Glacier Peak instead of Glacier Peak itself. Near  
  
the summit, I saw two members of Team Rocket fighting an Articuno."  
  
"The rare ice bird?" asked Nurse Joy.  
  
"That's the one," answered Ross, "When Team Rocket couldn't catch Articuno,  
  
they shot it in the wing, but still couldn't catch it. So one of them walked up  
  
to the Articuno and prepared to shoot it in the head! I ran in and stopped the  
  
murder, but they sent their pokemon to attack me. During the fight, an egg fell  
  
out of Articuno's nest and rolled off a cliff."  
  
"Oh-no!" replied Nurse Joy.  
  
"I sent my Spearow after the egg and in the process, Spearow evolved and saved  
  
the egg. I grabbed the wounded Articuno and its egg and flew to the Glacier  
  
Peak pokemon center."  
  
"There isn't a pokemon center at Glacier Peak," said Nurse Joy.  
  
"I know, after I checked in Articuno, I was told that it couldn't be saved and  
  
they were going to kill it. But after I thought that Articuno was put down, I  
  
overheard the nurse say that Articuno was alive and that they were sending it to  
  
someone else!"  
  
"Of course," said Nurse Joy, "Ice pokemon are very tough."  
  
"I went back to the room that had Articuno, but it was already gone. I kept  
  
the egg a secret until it recently hatched."  
  
"I see," said Nurse Joy.  
  
"I don't really know who I can trust out here, and I don't want to let Articuno  
  
fall into cruel hands," explained Ross.  
  
"All right," said Nurse Joy, "I'll transfer some food to your account that has  
  
been especially designed for baby pokemon. Articuno shouldn't go into its  
  
pokeball until it reaches at least level 5. Right now, I'd say that its about  
  
level 3. It will be old enough to stay in a pokeball by this time tomorrow."  
  
"Tomorrow? I'm in a city," said Ross, "How am I going to keep an Articuno a  
  
secret for an entire day?"  
  
"Good point," said Nurse Joy, "Articuno aren't as rare as they were 20 years  
  
ago, but they're still hard to come by. I know, I'll include a couple of rare  
  
candies."  
  
"Okay," said Ross, "I'll get it in a few minutes. Bye."  
  
"Bye," said Joy.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Where'd this come from?" asked Officer Jenny.  
  
"I don't know," said another cop, "It says to open immediately."  
  
Jenny opened the envelope and read the first letter. "Take a look at this,"  
  
Jenny said handing the letter to the other cop, who read it aloud.  
  
"To whom it may concern;  
  
I was walking through the forest the other day and found these papers stuck  
  
in a hollow tree. I'm sure that you will find them helpful. I prefer to  
  
remain anonymous, but if I need to, I will use my pen name.  
  
Best of luck to you;  
  
Dataeater"  
  
"And look at what else was enclosed," said Jenny, handing the other cop another  
  
piece of paper and a newsletter. Chapter 51-Exploring The Carnival  
  
Ross had just given Articuno the rare candy and put it into a pokeball for the  
  
time being. 'Now I can go to the convention,' thought Ross.  
  
After a short walk, Ross arrived at the convention. There were a lot of rides  
  
and games, but also a several booths selling pokemon, training and breeding  
  
gear, and other merchandise.  
  
Ross walked around the carnival stopping at most of the booths. Ross got some  
  
pokemon books. Ross considered buying a pokemon, but he thought that they were  
  
all too expensive.  
  
One booth especially caught his eye. Not so much because he liked the product,  
  
but how unusual it was. While most of the other pokemon selling booths sold  
  
popular, average pokemon, like Pidgey, Growlithes, Charmanders, and Ekans, this  
  
booth sold only Magikarp.  
  
Ross just shrugged it off and continued until he reached the archaeology booth.  
  
Inside, a video was playing of a recent find near Cape Town.  
  
"This mural is believed to be the oldest record ever discovered," explained the  
  
voice on the tape, "It tells the story of the pokemon's defender, a story that  
  
has been kept alive in books and minds for thousands of years."  
  
'This is pretty boring,' thought Ross as he stepped away to look at some of the  
  
games.  
  
The games were all the usual ones. Guess a pokemon's weight, water balloon  
  
race, and the like. Ross tried the pokemon weight guess game with a Porygon.  
  
The pokemon wouldn't be awarded until the carnival was over the next day. The  
  
next game Ross went to was a baseball-bottle throw.  
  
It was a pretty basic game, but no one seemed to be winning. There were  
  
thirteen scattered stands with three bottles in a pyramid formation and an  
  
evolution stone or pokeball being held up by the top bottle.  
  
"It couldn't be simpler," explained the man running the booth, "Knock down all  
  
three bottles and get the prize that falls to the ground. Each pokeball has an  
  
evolved Eevee. One dollar buys three throws."  
  
"Okay," said Ross as he handed over a one-dollar bills and took the three  
  
baseballs from the man.  
  
Ross aimed at the center of one of the stacks and threw a baseball. Ross hit  
  
the pedestal.  
  
"Nice try," complimented the man.  
  
Ross shrugged it off and threw his second baseball. This one hit the top  
  
bottle, but it didn't even budge.  
  
"So close," said the man over the counter.  
  
'Something's fishy here,' thought Ross. He wound up and decided to try  
  
something. This time, Ross threw the baseball with a Mega Punch. The baseball  
  
hit a stack in the back dead-on and something amazing happened. Chapter 52-A Cheater Exposed  
  
The bottles and the stand supporting it fell straight back, as stiff as a  
  
board, while the other stands behind the counter rose and became horizontal. A  
  
dirty platform emerged from the ground revealing why no one else had won.  
  
The bottles were welded to each other and the stands, which were in turn all  
  
attached to a wooden board buried about an inch underground! The man working  
  
the booth grabbed the money and ran off into the crowd, but was stopped by the  
  
people he cheated.  
  
Five minutes later, the man was being removed from the carnival and Ross was  
  
awarded a box of the prizes containing six pokemon and seven evolution stones.  
  
"But why?" asked Ross.  
  
"According to his rules, all you had to do was knock over the three bottles and  
  
the prize on top," said the carnival owner, "And you did so to all of the  
  
stands. Therefore, you win all thirteen prizes."  
  
"Wow, thanks," said Ross as he left for the rides. He figured that he had  
  
enough of games for one day.  
  
Ross had fun at the rides and was ready to leave when something caught his eye.  
  
A large arena stood with a sign reading,  
  
"Competitors wanted for Pokemon tournament  
  
3 o'clock today  
  
Prizes for top three winners!"  
  
Ross walked up to a table and signed in. He was instructed to go inside until  
  
the tournament started. Inside, Ross was explained the rules. There was only  
  
to be 1 pokemon per match and no use of items.  
  
Ross went onto a field and let his pokemon warm up, but kept Articuno in his  
  
pokeball.  
  
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Ross," said a voice behind him.  
  
"Ricky," replied Ross without even turning around.  
  
"I didn't think that you'd show up," commented Ricky, "Once I saw you climbing  
  
the wrong mountain, I thought that you'd be lost up there for a few more days!"  
  
"Well I'm here, and I'm ready to compete," explained Ross.  
  
"We'll see, Adam and I can't wait for the chance to publicly disgrace you!"  
  
proclaimed Ricky.  
  
"Very well," said Ross as two sets of footsteps walked away.  
  
"Who were those jerks?" asked Machop.  
  
"That was Ricky and Adam," explained Ross, "They've had a grudge against me  
  
ever since I beat them in the beginners' tournament back at Professor Oak's."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
When 3 o'clock rolled around, only six competitors had signed in. The stands  
  
were filling up and the rest of the carnival was getting empty. Ross and the  
  
other competitors were explained that everyone would be facing someone else in a  
  
one-on-one match and the winners would battle in a triple threat match.  
  
Ross was paired up against some girl named Susan while Ricky and Adam was  
  
matched up with a couple of strangers.  
  
Ross walked out and waited for Susan to send out her pokemon.  
  
"Eevee, GO!!!" exclaimed Susan.  
  
"Machop, GO!!!" instructed Ross.  
  
A small chiwawua-like pokemon appeared to battle Ross's short, purplish  
  
pokemon.  
  
"Eevee, tackle," instructed Susan.  
  
"Karate chop," replied Ross.  
  
Eevee ran up at Machop but got hit on the neck so hard that Eevee's neck almost  
  
broke! Eevee cringed under the blow.  
  
"Eevee, sand attack," commanded Susan.  
  
"Low kick," said Ross.  
  
Eevee started to scratch at the ground to create sand to throw in Machop's  
  
face. However, Machop spun around in a low circle, swinging its foot into  
  
Eevee. Eevee fell in the pile of sand it was making and got some of it into his  
  
eyes.  
  
"Quick attack," ordered Susan.  
  
"Time for the seismic toss," instructed Ross.  
  
Eevee ran around Machop and tried to hit him, but Machop caught Eevee by the  
  
scruff of the neck and its left front leg. Machop started to spin around and  
  
around in a very fast circle until both Machop and Eevee were just a blur. When  
  
Machop let go, a brown blur was seen flying out and straight for a wall. After  
  
impact, all that was left, was a fainted Eevee. Chapter 53-History Lesson  
  
Ross didn't really care much about Ricky and Adam's matches. So he took the  
  
time to read the first chapter in one of his books.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Chapter 1  
  
A Simple Pokemon Master's Battle On August 28th, at 11:32 AM, Ash Ketchem challenged the newly appointed pokemon  
  
master, Gary Oak. Gary Oak was the grandson of Professor Oak and had just  
  
beaten the Elite Four the night before.  
  
At the beginning of the five on five battle, Gary started out with an Dugtrio  
  
while Ash chose a Blastoise. Dugtrio fell under a hydro pump attack and was  
  
replaced by an Exeggcutor. Blastoise skull bashed Exeggcutor, but fell under a  
  
solar beam as Charizard took its place. The walking tree was trapped in a fire  
  
spin and didn't stand a chance against the powerful fire pokemon.  
  
A Gyarados was sent out and conquered the dragon-like Charizard. A Venusaur  
  
took Charizard's place and beat Gyarados with a razor leaf. An Arcanine beat  
  
Venusaur before falling to a Pidgeot. A Flareon was sent out and easily beat  
  
Pidgeot. Ash was forced to send out his last pokemon, a Pikachu that he  
  
received as his starting pokemon.  
  
Flareon and Pikachu would decide who would be the pokemon master. Would it be  
  
Gary Oak? Or...  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Ross Jacobsen and Ricky Allen!"  
  
Ross looked up from the book at the sound of his name. He saw that it was time  
  
for him to battle both of his rivals at once. Chapter 54-Triple Threat  
  
Adam and Ricky both wanted to be the one to dance all over Ross's pokemon and  
  
knew that only one of them could do so.  
  
Ross thought that Adam and Ricky would gang up on him, so he had to choose his  
  
pokemon wisely.  
  
"Weepinbell, GO!" ordered Adam.  
  
"Graveler, GO!" commanded Ricky.  
  
'Grass and Rock,' thought Ross, 'An fighting pokemon would be my safest bet."  
  
Ross wound up a pokeball and said, "Let's go..."  
  
"CUNO!"  
  
Everyone in the stadium was in shock. An Articuno had emerged from a pokeball  
  
on Ross's belt.  
  
"Articuno, what are you doing?" asked Ross, "You're too young to battle!"  
  
"You have an Articuno!?!" exclaimed Ricky.  
  
"Sort of," explained Ross.  
  
"Never mind that!" said Adam, "Weepinbell, razor leaf!  
  
"Articuno, look out!" exclaimed Ross.  
  
Articuno saw the deadly leaves flying at it and flew out of harm's way.  
  
Graveler wasn't so lucky and got his ankle hurt by one of the leaves.  
  
"Hey! What did you do that for?" demanded Ricky, "Graveler, earthquake!"  
  
The angry Graveler grabbed the earth and soon, the ground was shaking.  
  
Articuno was in the air and didn't feel the attack. Weepinbell however, did!  
  
Soon a battle had erupted between the former partners. Articuno perched on a  
  
bench by the stadium and watched the two pokemon go at it. Articuno was  
  
learning by watching the battle and in turn, growing experience levels.  
  
Finally, Graveler fainted and a weak Weepinbell turned to face Articuno.  
  
"Articuno, freeze Weepinbell with an ice beam!" hollered Ross over the cheer in  
  
the stands.  
  
Articuno did as instructed and soon, Weepinbell was nothing more than a block  
  
of ice.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ross, Ricky, and Adam stood on three different boxes of different sizes and  
  
labeled 1, 2, and 3.  
  
Adam was given a bronze nugget and a certificate for three evolution stones.  
  
Ricky was given a silver nugget, another certificate for three evolution stones,  
  
and $200 of carnival cash.  
  
Lastly, Ross was given a gold nugget, a certificate for another three evolution  
  
stones, $500 of carnival cash, and a request to participate in the carnival  
  
champions' competition the next day.  
  
After the humble awards ceremony, Ross was asked where he got the Articuno.  
  
"I guess the Articuno's out of the bag, so to speak," said Ross as he explained  
  
the original story that he told Nurse Joy all over again. Chapter 55-The Next Day At The Carnival  
  
"What do you think we should do?" asked one of the rookie cops in the meeting.  
  
"It couldn't be simpler," explained Jenny, "We replace the Magikarp salesman  
  
with an experienced officer. Since the Rockets need individual instructions  
  
from him, we pull in everyone who buys a Magikarp for questioning."  
  
"How many officers do we send in?" asked an officer.  
  
"1 experienced to man the target booth, 2 more experienced and 2 rookies to man  
  
the neighboring booths," explained the captain, "All of which will be  
  
undercover. Finally, we will have 5 professional cops, including Jenny here, to  
  
escort the suspects back to the station."  
  
"When do we move in?" asked the rookie.  
  
"1 hour before the carnival resumes," stated Jenny.  
  
"I will be manning the Magikarp booth," stated the captain, "Johnson and  
  
McDonly, you man the apparel booth. Scott and Brisco, you take the Safari Zone  
  
booth. Nadle, Quick, Reckendorf, Paterson will be with Jenny, escorting  
  
suspects. The rest of you will be interrogating the suspects to determine  
  
whether or not they're members of Team Rocket."  
  
"And remember," added Jenny, "if any of them identifies themself as  
  
'Dataeater', compare them to the tape, but don't ask for it."  
  
"Also," said the captain, "this is a private investigation until all of the  
  
suspects are either released, or arrested. So don't tell a soul. Not your  
  
friends, not your families, not even other cops not in this room. Any  
  
questions?"  
  
When no one spoke up, the captain dismissed everyone.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
At the pokemon center, Ross was very popular. Everyone had heard that he had  
  
an Articuno and wanted to see it. Ross had gotten so sick of putting Articuno  
  
in and out of his pokeball that he just let it ride on his shoulder.  
  
The next morning, Ross's fame had deteriorated and Adam was loudly fighting  
  
with Ricky.  
  
"Why do I even put up with you!?!" asked Adam.  
  
"Because I do all of the thinking, budgeting, and organizing," explained Ricky.  
  
"Yeah right!" proclaimed Adam, "You wouldn't have even made to Viridian without  
  
ME!!!"  
  
Ross decided not to get anymore involved in their conflict and left for the  
  
carnival.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ross wasn't due back at the tournament until 4 PM, so he looked at the booths  
  
to kill some time. He came across a few apparel booths and spent some of his  
  
carnival cash on some fingerless gloves with his initials, a cool looking coat,  
  
and a pair of sunglasses.  
  
Ross walked around some more, looking pretty tough with his new clothes on. He  
  
spent some more of his carnival cash on fresh supplies, a lot more medicine and  
  
still had about $75 left.  
  
Ross played the pokemon weight guessing game again, this time for a Poliwag.  
  
After which, Ross had lunch and went to the auction room.  
  
There was only about 2 other people in the tent. A long table covered with the  
  
items up for purchase. A few things caught Ross's eye, so he took a seat and  
  
waited for the auction to begin. Chapter 56-Auction House ROCK  
  
Several items were displayed and sold before Ross saw an item that he wanted.  
  
"The next item up for bid is an inflatable raft with oars," said the  
  
auctioneer, "Who will start the bidding?"  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Sold for $10 to the man in the pokemon league hat," proclaimed the slightly  
  
more enthusiastic auctioneer.  
  
Ross went up, paid for the raft, took it from the selling table man, and turned  
  
to face his seat. That was when he realized that everyone else had left,  
  
leaving Ross with a window of opportunity. A Swiss-army knife, an envelope  
  
labeled "?", and an open toolbox full of tools were still on the bidding table.  
  
He turned around and said, "I'll give you $20 for everything that you have  
  
left!"  
  
The auctioneer began to protest but Ross asked, "Who else are you going to sell  
  
it to?"  
  
The selling table man and auctioneer looked at each other and knew that Ross  
  
was right. No one else was left to give them a better offer.  
  
The auctioneer raised and dropped his gavel as he said, "Sold." Chapter 57-Continuations  
  
Ross put his new possessions in his backpack and computer before heading over  
  
to the stadium. Again, only a few trainers wanted to battle. Ross wasn't in  
  
the mood to watch some pokemon matches. He wanted to battle.  
  
Ross opened the book he was reading earlier and turned to the page he was on.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Flareon and Pikachu would decide who would be the pokemon master. Would it be  
  
Gary Oak? Or Ash Ketchem? Neither pokemon had a distinct advantage over the  
  
other.  
  
Flareon used an ember attack, but Pikachu dodged it with agility. Pikachu used  
  
a quick attack to hurt Flareon and dodged a flame thrower. Pikachu continued to  
  
attack with swift while Flareon charged up with rage.  
  
Flareon started to attack Pikachu with all of its might until both pokemon were  
  
weak from the ordeal. The two pokemon began to prepare for their final attacks.  
  
Flareon tried to do a quick attack, but the still quick Pikachu got out of the  
  
way in time before launching a thunder shock. Flareon was severely hit and  
  
fainted.  
  
Gary was sent away from Indigo Plateau, and was given the position of Viridian  
  
City Gym Leader. Ash welcomed back the Elite Four and renamed it, "The Elite  
  
Masters of the Pokemon League." He invited trainers and breeders to join and  
  
wound up choosing 2 breeders and another trainer.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
When Ross looked up, the awards ceremony was just finishing up. The announcer  
  
asked those that were invited to do so to come down and participate in the  
  
Carnival Champions' Competition.  
  
Ross and two other trainers stepped down to the arena. Ross was paired up  
  
against Matt from Professor Oak's competition.  
  
"Magnemite, GO!" ordered Matt.  
  
"Geodude, I choose YOU!" said Ross.  
  
Both pokemon appeared from the pokeballs, ready to battle.  
  
"Geodude, rock throw," instructed Ross.  
  
"Magnemite, thunder wave!" commanded Matt.  
  
Magnemite tried to electrocute Geodude, but failed miserably. Magnemite was  
  
hit and knocked spinning in circles.  
  
"Magnemite, tackle," said Matt.  
  
"Geodude, defense curl."  
  
Geodude spun in a circle and grew another layer of rock. Magnemite tackled the  
  
hard Geodude, hurting itself and barely even fazing Geodude.  
  
"Geodude, tackle."  
  
"Magnemite, screech."  
  
Magnemite made a sound that seemed to be nails on a chalkboard. Geodude was  
  
taken aback and missed.  
  
"Magnemite, supersonic."  
  
"Geodude, rock slide!"  
  
Magnemite started to make an awful sound, but Geodude wasn't affected. Geodude  
  
rolled a rock at Magnemite. Magnemite got scared and fainted when the rock hit  
  
him. Chapter 58-The Champion of the Carnival  
  
Ross sat back down while he waited for the other two trainers to finish their  
  
battle. It didn't take too long. One of the trainers sent out a Voltorb and  
  
had it use self destruct.  
  
Ross stepped out and prepared to fight the pokemon that avoided the worst of  
  
the self-destruct. Ross waited as the trainer gave a potion to a pokemon  
  
covered in vines.  
  
"Tangela," said the pokemon.  
  
'Zubat would be a safe choice,' thought Ross.  
  
"Zubat, GO!" instructed Ross.  
  
"Tangela, constrict," said the trainer.  
  
"Zubat, confuse ray," replied Ross.  
  
Zubat started to glow a dark purple as a black beam shot at Tangela. Tangela  
  
dodged the beam and caught Zubat in its long vines.  
  
"Bind," commented the confident trainer.  
  
"Leech life," instructed Ross.  
  
Tangela began to squeeze Zubat when Zubat sank its teeth into the vines  
  
restraining him. Tangela began to weaken as Zubat drained Tangela's strength to  
  
replenish its own.  
  
"Now bite!" commanded Ross.  
  
Zubat removed its teeth only to place them in a new part of Tangela's vines.  
  
Tangela got scared and stopped squeezing, but still held onto Zubat.  
  
'How am I going to get Zubat loose?' wondered Ross when Zubat got loose by  
  
slapping Tangela away with its wings. Ross checked his pokedex.  
  
"Zubat has just learned wing attack," explained the mechanical voice, 'Most  
  
Zubat learn this attack prior to evolving."  
  
Ross looked at Tangela and Zubat. Tangela was weak and needed more energy to  
  
continue the battle.  
  
"ABSORB!" shouted the trainer.  
  
"Supersonic," said Ross.  
  
Tangela tried to attack Zubat, but couldn't focus with all of the noise.  
  
Tangela was so tired, that it collapsed into a tired, yet awake heap.  
  
"I yield," said the trainer, "My pokemon is too tired to continue."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ross stepped up to the podium to claim his last prize. He was handed a  
  
certificate for a pokemon of his choice from one of the booths. Ross stepped  
  
down to leave  
  
"HOLD IT!" hollered a voice in the stands.  
  
Everyone looked to the source of the voice and saw a young woman with an  
  
Arcanine.  
  
"I am Trella Flame, leader of the local fire gym, and I want to battle the  
  
winner! It is my right as the local gym leader."  
  
Ross thought about it and said, "Only if it is a badge battle."  
  
While Trella thought about this, the dog by her side said, "You've got it!"  
  
'Another talking pokemon,' thought Ross, 'How interesting.' Chapter 59-Battling Trella Flame  
  
Trella stepped down and stood at one end of the arena with the Arcanine by her  
  
side. Ross took his position at the other end, already knowing which pokemon to  
  
start with.  
  
"4 on 4, boundary battle, agreed?" said Trella.  
  
"Agreed," said Ross.  
  
"I'll start with Flareon, GO!" commented Trella.  
  
"I will use Staryu, GO!" said Ross.  
  
Everyone in the stands settled down. Badge Matches were usually in private, so  
  
seeing one in public was a real treat.  
  
"Swift," said Ross.  
  
"Tail whip," instructed Trella.  
  
Flareon was hit by multiple stars emerging from Staryu's core.  
  
"Fire spin," said Trella.  
  
"Light screen," instructed Ross.  
  
Flareon was blinded by the light coming from Staryu and wound up surrounding  
  
the entire arena with a curtain of flame.  
  
"Flareon, bite."  
  
"Staryu, water gun the head!"  
  
Flareon opened its mouth but wound up drinking too much water. Flareon's fire  
  
sac was extinguished and couldn't fight until it dried out.  
  
"Flareon, return," ordered Trella, "Ninetails, GO!"  
  
A large yellow wolf with multiple tails appeared and let out a fearsome roar.  
  
Staryu was spooked.  
  
"Quick attack," Trella said.  
  
"Harden," stated Ross.  
  
Staryu was hit hard and knocked out of the arena, disqualifying it.  
  
"Staryu, return," said Ross, "Geodude, GO! Rock throw!"  
  
"Flamethrower," commanded Trella.  
  
The flamethrower made the rocks semi-molten as they hit Ninetails. The rocks  
  
soon cooled and acted like anchors on Ninetails's feet.  
  
"Ninetails, return," Trella complimented, "Impressive. Let's see how you do  
  
against Magmar!"  
  
A red, yellow, and orange creature emerged from the pokeball.  
  
"Smokescreen," said Trella.  
  
"Defense curl."  
  
The entire area filled with smoke, making it impossible to see anything. When  
  
it cleared, Ross's Geodude was motionless on the ground.  
  
"Geodude, return," said Ross, "Wartortle, let's GO! Bubblebeam!"  
  
"Smog," said a perfectly calm Trella.  
  
The smog was released and soon caught up in the bubbles. They continued  
  
towards Magmar until they popped in his eyes. Magmar was blinded by the smog in  
  
his eyes.  
  
"Water gun," stated Ross.  
  
"Fire punch," ordered Trella.  
  
Magmar swung blindly at air until the water gun drenched him. Magmar was so  
  
out of it, he didn't know what he was doing and started to swing at Trella!  
  
"Magmar, return," said Trella, "You're up Arcanine."  
  
The large dog by Trella's side ran out and showed its teeth. Wartortle didn't  
  
back down. The surrounding fire curtain was getting hotter and it was hard for  
  
both pokemon and trainers to see clearly.  
  
From what Ross could make out, the two pokemon were fighting without trainer  
  
interference. Finally, Wartortle was thrown out of the arena, disqualifying him  
  
from the battle.  
  
'I better send in a pokemon that can survive that heat,' thought Ross.  
  
"Wartortle, return," directed Ross, "Charmander, go finish the battle!"  
  
Charmander leaped over the flames to battle the unseen foe. It was unknown who  
  
would be victorious until a blast of flame emerged as a signal that the match  
  
was over.  
  
Two figures in trench coats ran out with a hose and carefully extinguished the  
  
fire ring revealing a large, unconscious dog and a victorious lizard. But the  
  
lizard in the ring was definitely NOT Charmander. This lizard had larger claws,  
  
paws, eyes, and a bump on its head.  
  
"CHARRRRR-MEEE-LEEON!" proclaimed the lizard. Chapter 60-Rocket Annoyance  
  
"To protect the world from devastation," said one of the figures.  
  
"To unite all people within our nation," replied the second.  
  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love," stated the first figure.  
  
"To extend our reach to the stars above," answered the second form.  
  
"Jesse," introduced the first figure, removing her trench coat and revealing  
  
her uniform.  
  
"James," announced the second, doing the same as Jill.  
  
"Team Rocket. Blast off at the speed of light!" proclaimed Jill.  
  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" ordered Jack.  
  
"Meowth, that's right!" said the cat as it ran out from under the stands.  
  
Everyone that was in the stands was scared by the Team Rocket members and ran  
  
out of the stands.  
  
"We want your pokemon!" demanded Jesse, talking to Trella.  
  
"You can't have them!" denied Trella.  
  
"You have no choice, all of your pokemon can't fight!" reminded Meowth.  
  
"Guess again, Rapidash, GO!!!" hollered Trella as she tossed a pokeball. A  
  
unicorn with fire hooves, mane, and tail appeared where the pokeball landed.  
  
Team Rocket was surprised until Trella said, "Any decent trainer never uses all  
  
of their pokemon in a single battle!"  
  
"No matter," said Jesse, "Your predictability will cost you dearly, crank up  
  
the water!"  
  
Water sprayed out of the hose at Rapidash until it fainted.  
  
"Oh NO!" exclaimed Trella.  
  
"Now," started James, "let's try this again. Hand over your pokemon!"  
  
"Not so fast," proclaimed Ross, "Bulbasaur, GO! Razor leaf the hose!"  
  
Bulbasaur appeared and launched several leaves at the rubber hose. Soon, the  
  
hose was in several pieces.  
  
Meowth tried fighting Bulbasaur, but stopped when Bulbasaur turned white. At  
  
first, Ross thought that Bulbasaur was using growth, but the bulb on its back  
  
opened. When the white faded, a new pokemon stood where Bulbasaur was.  
  
"I-vy-SAUR!" proclaimed the new pokemon.  
  
"Use sleep powder!" instructed Ross.  
  
A blue powder gently dusted the arena floor, prompting everyone to start  
  
snoring loudly.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
When Ross woke up, he was in a jail cell. He noticed that his backpack was  
  
missing.  
  
"This is all your fault!" accused Jesse.  
  
Ross looked in the next cell over and saw Team Rocket arguing.  
  
"The kid's up," commented Meowth.  
  
Jesse and James turned to face Ross. "If you didn't interfere, we would have  
  
made a clean get-away with all of Trella's pokemon!" stated James.  
  
"Keep quiet," hissed Meowth, "You know that they video tape the cells!"  
  
Ross looked around and saw a camera over the doorway. He also saw his  
  
backpack, sunglasses, and other things on a table opposite Ross's cell.  
  
According to a clock by the camera, it was 5:45. He had until 9 PM to redeem  
  
his coupons and the rest of his carnival cash.  
  
Ross sat down and waited until the door opened about 10 minutes later. In  
  
stepped a policewoman, a man in a captain's uniform, and Trella Flame.  
  
"That was a good battle," said Trella, "And you saved all of my pokemon. You  
  
deserve this." Trella held out a small piece of metal designed to look like a  
  
fire.  
  
Ross took the small badge and said, "Thanks."  
  
"Sorry that we had to bring you in," apologized the captain, "Jenny here will  
  
give you a ride back to the carnival."  
  
Jenny unlocked the cell door and let Ross out.  
  
Ross picked up his things and followed Jenny out the door.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ross did some more shopping for improved equipment and supplies until he ran  
  
out of carnival cash. Next, Ross cashed in his evolution stone certificates for  
  
a fire, water, and leaf stone. With his pokemon certificate, Ross got an Abra  
  
before he went back to the pokemon weight booth to see if he won either pokemon.  
  
The booth was closing up and the man running it was placing pokemon on a scale  
  
to determine their weight. Several people gathered around the booth to see if  
  
they won.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"I just can't believe how many Team Rocket members we managed to arrest today!"  
  
commented Jenny.  
  
"It WAS a good bust," said the captain, "We better let the other police  
  
stations know where they can get copies of Team Rocket's newsletter. Then we  
  
might be able to put an end to Team Rocket for good!" Chapter 61-Before Leaving  
  
Back at the booth, Ross was waiting for the winners to be posted. The man  
  
behind the booth walked up and posted a piece of paper. At first, Ross couldn't  
  
get close to the list, but soon, the crowd left for the exit after claiming  
  
their prizes if any.  
  
Finally, Ross looked up Porygon and Poliwag and saw only 3 guesses total.  
  
'Guess no one else likes those pokemon,' figured Ross.  
  
Poliwag-10 pounds, 3 ounces Ross guessed-10 pounds WINNER  
  
John guessed-11 pounds  
  
Porygon-16 pounds, 8 ounces Ross guessed-20 pounds WINNER  
  
"Yes, I won both pokemon," said Ross.  
  
Ross collected both pokemon and their pokeballs before leaving for the exit.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ross had another training session with his pokemon at the pokemon center. He  
  
was getting fairly good at fighting when he overheard some trainers gossiping  
  
outside.  
  
"Those two were really going at it. They even decided to split up!" said one  
  
voice, "I thought that they were going to tear each other's heads off!"  
  
"What could have caused two pokemon training companions to hate each other so  
  
much?" asked another voice.  
  
"Something about an Articuno," stated the first voice.  
  
"What were their names anyway?" asked the second person.  
  
"I think it was something like, what were they?" started the first voice, "Ric  
  
and Sadan."  
  
Ross walked up to the trainers to ask a question but was interrupted by the  
  
intercom.  
  
"It's now 10 PM," explained the Joy on the speaker, "All pokemon trainers must  
  
start getting ready for bed."  
  
"We better get a move on," said one of the gossipers. And with that, they were  
  
gone before Ross could stop them.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Ross looked around in the trainers' quarters for Ricky and Adam, but didn't see  
  
a single sign of either trainer. Nurse Joy walked in and said good night before  
  
turning off the lights.  
  
"See you in the MORN-ing!" exclaimed Adam's voice in a sing-song tone.  
  
"Shut UP!!!" ordered a cranky Ricky's voice.  
  
Ross smiled at this thought and for the first time in a long while, Ross slept  
  
like a log. TO BE CONTINUED. 


	4. Act 4

Sibling Rivalry  
  
By Ross Jacobsen  
  
Transferred to fanfiction.net by voyager1713  
  
  
  
Chapter 62-Up Mt. Fire  
  
After a good night's sleep, Ross started out for Mount Fire. Ross thought  
  
that he would  
  
find several new pokemon.  
  
"But I have to look for new pokemon," argued Ross, "There must be tons of  
  
them on this  
  
mountain!"  
  
"Sorry, but rules are rules," explained the guard, "I can only let  
  
scientists or Elite Masters  
  
of the Pokemon League, both also have to have qualified protection."  
  
"Why?" asked Ross, "I thought that the mountain was safer these days."  
  
"Simple," replied the guard, "This mountain is home to several Moltres and  
  
Magmar,  
  
two very powerful pokemon. As long as they're on the protected pokemon list,  
  
their habitat is  
  
restricted."  
  
Ross was disappointed, but realized that limited access was for the  
  
betterment of the  
  
pokemon.  
  
That didn't mean that he wasn't going to try and figure a way onto Mt. Fire  
  
though. Ross  
  
sat down and puzzled over the problem for a while. Ross decided to check what  
  
was in his  
  
mystery envelope.  
  
Inside was some more passes to the Safari Zone and some cash. Nothing that  
  
would help  
  
Ross at the moment. Ross continued to think when he heard a low hum.  
  
The hum got louder and Ross saw a floating yellow ring with a clear dome  
  
coming  
  
closer. As the hovering vehicle approached, Ross read a plaque on it reading,  
  
"Prototype 01  
  
Exploration Hovercraft." Problem was that the vehicle wasn't level.  
  
"But I need to examine the geothermal activity!" proclaimed the driver in a  
  
white lab  
  
coat.  
  
"Sorry, but until you get this thing fixed, you're not going on this  
  
mountain," said the  
  
guard.  
  
"But all of my tools are useless!" The vehicle turned around and the  
  
scientist left in a  
  
huff. Ross had an idea and ran after the vehicle.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
About an hour later, the guard saw the 01 hovercraft returning. This time  
  
with two  
  
people on board and perfectly level.  
  
"We're BA-ACK!" said the scientist.  
  
"I see that," said the guard, "Now that you've gotten that limp fixed, you  
  
can go on up  
  
the mountain."  
  
The guard walked back into the guardhouse and soon, the gate opened.  
  
The hovercraft floated through the gate and to the red glow at the top of  
  
the mountain.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
After Ross and the scientist, (who was named Peter), set up some equipment,  
  
Peter  
  
pulled out two cameras.  
  
"I understand that you want to capture new pokemon," said Peter, "But if  
  
you can't catch  
  
them, would you mind taking a picture of them?"  
  
"No sweat," replied Ross, taking one of the cameras from Peter.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
The air on Mt. Fire was very hot. Several of Ross's pokemon chose to stay  
  
in their  
  
pokeballs, but Charmeleon, Geodude, Wartortle, and Growlithe could stand the  
  
heat and move  
  
around easily. Most of the pokemon Ross saw were just copies of the pokemon  
  
Ross already  
  
had. Fortunately, Ross found an old lava tube with several pokemon talking.  
  
None of the pokemon ran away when they saw Ross and just started to follow  
  
his other  
  
pokemon. Ross decided not to fight the pokemon for a while and everything was  
  
going great.  
  
Ross was taking pictures of the pokemon and they were loving all of the  
  
attention. All of the  
  
pokemon he saw really liked Ross and his pokemon.  
  
"MOLLLL-TREESSS!" hollered an angry, raspy voice. All of the wild pokemon  
  
jumped  
  
and ran up the mountain and into another cave.  
  
Ross and pokemon were confused by this action until a wild Geodude said,  
  
"The fire god  
  
is angry. We must appease it."  
  
Ross was curious and followed the wild pokemon into the cave. Ross's  
  
pokemon  
  
followed their trainer and beheld a breathtaking site. A large Moltres stood  
  
over a much smaller  
  
one. Several wild pokemon surrounded the two birds. Onix, Ponyta, Charmander,  
  
Magmar,  
  
Geodude, Growlithe, and Vulpix, all were present with their evolved forms, if  
  
any. Ross  
  
decided to stay out of sight when the adult Moltres spoke.  
  
"But we need that food for ourselves," protested a small Growlithe.  
  
Moltres looked angrily at the small dog and burned the poor dog senseless.  
  
The little  
  
puppy dropped and Moltres started spoke again. Ross realized that he just HAD  
  
to get a picture  
  
of the meeting.  
  
Ross aimed the camera and pushed the button. The camera took the picture  
  
and started  
  
to make a loud whirring sound. The camera was rewinding the film roll. Ross  
  
looked from the  
  
camera to the meeting. Moltres looked straight at Ross's hiding place with fire  
  
in his eyes.  
  
Ross's pokemon panicked and jumped into their pokeballs. Ross ran out of the  
  
cave while the  
  
adult Moltres flew out a hole in the roof of the cave.  
  
Ross tried to hurry down the slope but knew that he couldn't outrun the  
  
fire bird. Ross  
  
found a flat spot and stood his ground against the bird. Chapter 63-To Beat A Moltres  
  
Ross sent out most of his pokemon, but they all fell to the powerful  
  
Moltres. Moltres  
  
waited for its next opponent and Ross was down to Geodude.  
  
"Geodude, GO!" said Ross.  
  
Geodude was nervous about facing such a powerful opponent, but was ready to  
  
fight for  
  
Ross.  
  
"Defense curl," instructed Ross.  
  
Geodude developed a new layer of rock as Moltres used ember. Geodude  
  
wasn't  
  
seriously damaged but was left open to a peck attack. Moltres hit Geodude and  
  
was seriously hit  
  
this time.  
  
"Tackle."  
  
Geodude charged Moltres, but missed when Moltres used agility. Moltres  
  
than knocked  
  
Geodude to the ground with a wing attack and trapped Geodude in a fire spin.  
  
Even the hard rock couldn't take the super intense heat in the fire spin.  
  
The fire was so  
  
hot that it white. The imprisoned form was impossible to see.  
  
"Rock throw!"  
  
A boulder shot out of the white flame and knocked Moltres out of the sky  
  
and onto the  
  
ground.  
  
"Rock SLIDE!"  
  
The ground trembled briefly and several rocks up the mountain started to  
  
roll down the  
  
slope at Moltres. Moltres tried to fly up out of harm's way when a rocky form  
  
escaped the  
  
intense fire spin and tackled Moltres back into the path of the rocks. The rock  
  
on Moltres used  
  
harden just before the mountainside rocks rolled past Ross and carried the two  
  
pokemon down  
  
the mountain.  
  
"GEODUDE!!!" cried a worried Ross.  
  
The wild pokemon that had been watching from the meeting cave, ran down the  
  
mountain to the pile of rocks that took away the battling pokemon. Ross ran as  
  
fast as he could  
  
until a wild Rapidash ran by and let him climb on.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
At the large mound of rocks, Ross and other wild pokemon dug feverishly to  
  
uncover the  
  
two trapped pokemon. After a while, a group of Ninetails uncovered an  
  
unconscious Moltres.  
  
It was getting late and there was still no sign of Geodude.  
  
"Gra-ve..." said a weak voice under Ross.  
  
Ross moved boulders as fast as his tired arms could until he found a tired  
  
Graveler  
  
pinned under several rocks.  
  
"GET ME MY BACKPACK!" ordered Ross.  
  
A Magmar ran up with the pack open. Ross reached in and pulled out a  
  
potion to apply  
  
to Graveler. Other pokemon joined Ross and Graveler was soon free of the rocks.  
  
Ross had just barely figured out that his Geodude evolved in Graveler when  
  
the 01  
  
hovercraft floated into view.  
  
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light. Surrender now or prepare to  
  
fight!" stated  
  
an intercom on the craft.  
  
A large hose appeared and started to inhale.  
  
"RUN!" yelled Ross to the pokemon. The wild pokemon ran into another  
  
hidden cave,  
  
followed closely by Ross and Graveler. Everyone was in except the knocked- out  
  
Moltres.  
  
"Thanks for the Moltres," said the intercom, "Good luck trying to get off  
  
of the  
  
mountain! HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!" The three lifts suddenly increased their output  
  
and flew  
  
higher into the air.  
  
"I don't think so," said Ross. Remembering the weak lift, Ross pointed at  
  
it and added  
  
"Graveler, rock throw that lift!"  
  
Graveler and several other rock pokemon threw a total of about 25 rocks at  
  
the lift Ross  
  
pointed out. While most of the rocks hit their target, some rocks hit the other  
  
two lifts. All of  
  
the lifts lost power and the hovercraft started to spin out of control.  
  
The craft disappeared behind the curve of the mountain, followed shortly by  
  
a large  
  
explosion. Chapter 64-Wild Lifestyle  
  
At the wreckage, leftover parts were scattered all over the place. Some  
  
shrapnel was  
  
burning while other pieces were partially buried in the soil.  
  
The wild pokemon let out a cheer and started to dance around the shell of  
  
the 01  
  
hovercraft. Ross and Graveler wondered why they were celebrating so much when a  
  
Charmeleon walked up and explained.  
  
"A few years ago, a Moltres was threatening all of us and demanding a more  
  
than equal  
  
share of our food. Over time, the Moltres had a legacy take its place after  
  
death. Several  
  
pokemon have tried to oppose the ruling Moltres, but they were all beaten.  
  
Finally, You and  
  
your pokemon friends came and beat Moltres. You are welcome to join in our  
  
celebration."  
  
"But what about the infant Moltres?" asked Graveler. Everyone stopped when  
  
they heard  
  
this question. Apparently they didn't think about this.  
  
"Why don't I take it with me?" asked Ross.  
  
The wild pokemon talked about this for a little while until the Charmeleon  
  
said, "We'll  
  
have to talk about it. We'll let you know our decision later. For now, let's  
  
PARTY!!!!"  
  
Ross's other pokemon eventually came to and joined in the festivities. The  
  
party lasted  
  
well into the night. There were races, dances, and a feast.  
  
When Ross had his fill, he set up camp a few feet away from the party and  
  
drifted off to  
  
sleep.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
In the morning, Ross crawled out of his tent and stretched before taking  
  
down his tent.  
  
Ross and pokemon were invited to breakfast.  
  
As everyone munched on fruits, berries, and even a crude bread, 7 pokemon,  
  
a Charizard,  
  
a Magmar, a Rapidash, a Arcanine, a Golem, a Onix, and a Ninetails, whispered  
  
among  
  
themselves.  
  
After breakfast, Ross was shown several sites. Several little villages  
  
belonging to the  
  
different pokemon, several lava tubes, and the entrance and exit to something  
  
translated as an  
  
"evolution tunnel."  
  
Growlithe wanted to go in, but the wild pokemon wouldn't let it. The last  
  
site Ross and  
  
party was shown was a large cave. According to the wild pokemon, it was the  
  
hall of justice.  
  
Inside, the seven pokemon Ross saw earlier rested behind a long table.  
  
The Magmar stood up and started talking. Ross's Abra translated for him.  
  
"We, the seven mayors, have been deliberating your request. We currently  
  
believe that  
  
the best place for the infant Moltres IS with you. You seem to be skilled in  
  
bringing out a  
  
pokemon's inner strength and discipline. SO, we have decided to make a  
  
request."  
  
"Which is?" ventured Rattata.  
  
"We would like you to take some OTHER pokemon with you. We must warn you  
  
that  
  
these pokemon is a young group of trouble makers and might not obey you."  
  
"How many more pokemon are we talking here?" asked Pidgey.  
  
"3, a Magmar, an Onix, and a Vulpix."  
  
"Group huddle," said Ross. Ross and all of his pokemon formed a circle and  
  
took a  
  
quick survey. When they decided, the huddle broke and faced the seven mayors.  
  
"We'll do it," said Machop.  
  
"Vulpix will have to evolve someday, so we'll give you a piece of the  
  
evolution tunnel  
  
for when that day comes."  
  
A Golem walked out holding the end of a chain and carrying a box. Golem  
  
handed the  
  
chain and box to Ross. Ross looked into the box and saw the young Moltres and a  
  
fire stone.  
  
Attached to the chain was a Magmar, a Vulpix, and an Onix.  
  
"We wish you the best of luck. Even if they won't listen to you, we think  
  
that the  
  
experience will do them good."  
  
Ross and his pokemon was shown the way out of the Hall of Justice and  
  
started to go  
  
downhill. Chapter 65-Escape from Mt. Fire  
  
While Ross and pokemon walked down the mountain, they got the feeling that  
  
they were  
  
being followed. Every time Ross or one of his pokemon looked behind them, all  
  
that was seen  
  
was the volcano.  
  
After about an hour of walking, Ross found the equipment that he helped  
  
Peter setup. 'I  
  
don't think that he'll be using this stuff anymore,' figured Ross as he gathered  
  
up the abandoned  
  
technology.  
  
After a light lunch, Ross and pokemon left the experiment sight and  
  
continued down the  
  
trail. Ross put all of his pokemon into a pokeball when the fence was 100 yards  
  
away. When  
  
Ross got to the perimeter fence, the guard stopped Ross from leaving.  
  
"But why?" asked Ross.  
  
"You have to get through us," said the guard.  
  
"Us?" asked Ross.  
  
"Prepare for trouble," said the guard.  
  
"And make it double," added a figure walking out of the guardhouse.  
  
"To protect the world from devastation,"  
  
"To unite all people within our nation."  
  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."  
  
"To extend our reach to the stars above."  
  
"Mike," said the guard, revealing his face.  
  
"Nick," said the other figure, doing the same as the guard.  
  
"Hey, you're the trainers that I got my Hitmons from!" exclaimed Ross.  
  
"Yeah, and I want them back!" proclaimed Mike.  
  
"No WAY!" denied Ross.  
  
"You have no choice," said a Meowth in the window, "You're stuck on the  
  
wrong side of  
  
the fence. An electric perimeter field extends above the fence."  
  
"You're not getting out until you hand over the Hitmons," stated Nick.  
  
"I'll just have to find another way out then," said Ross, walking off in a  
  
huff.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Ross tossed a few rocks towards the top of the fence and they were bounced  
  
back by a  
  
force field of some sort. The ground was solid rock, making going under the  
  
fence impossible.  
  
The fence was also electrified and barb-wire surrounded the top. Every once in  
  
a while, a  
  
Voltorb floated by with a Team Rocket insignia drawn on.  
  
Ross eventually found a cliff that seemed to be close enough to the fence  
  
for Ross to  
  
jump over, but Ross couldn't quite jump far enough. Every time Ross jumped, he  
  
collided into  
  
the fence. Ross sat down on the edge of the cliff, wondering what he could do.  
  
Ross heard a horse neigh and slipped off the cliff. After Ross pulled  
  
himself back onto  
  
the cliff, Ross saw a Ponyta waiting for him.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Ready?" Ross asked the stead beneath him.  
  
The pony under him nodded with a snort to indicate his readiness.  
  
"Ready?" Ross asked the white cat in front of him.  
  
Another Voltorb floated by as Mew nodded and said, "yes"  
  
"Let's go then," said Ross, "HE-YA!"  
  
Ponyta galloped at full speed straight at the cliff edge. The end of the  
  
ground beneath  
  
him loomed closer and closer.  
  
'Maybe this WASN'T such a good idea,' thought Ross as Ponyta jumped off the  
  
rock  
  
face.  
  
"Mew, extend your barrier around all of us!" ordered Ross as the trio  
  
approached the  
  
invisible wall.  
  
Mew began to glow with a white aura which extended around Ross and Ponyta.  
  
As the  
  
group flew over the chain link fence, the force field above it flickered yellow  
  
around the  
  
intrusion.  
  
When Ponyta's tail cleared the electric wall, Ross proclaimed, "Barrier  
  
DOWN!"  
  
Mew relaxed and the white light surrounding Ross and crew disappeared.  
  
Ponyta made a  
  
not-so-soft landing and galloped away from the mountain it grew up on. Chapter 66-Time To Teach A Lesson  
  
Ross tried to battle trainers with the three rebellious pokemon from Mt.  
  
Fire, but they  
  
refused. Not only did Onix, Vulpix, and Magmar refuse to battle, they also  
  
played tricks and ate  
  
more than their fair share of the food.  
  
This went on for two days as Ross made his way to Cape Town. When Magmar  
  
and  
  
Vulpix started a small fire in Ross's tent the morning of the third day, Ross  
  
had enough.  
  
When the fire was out, Ross confronted the young Vulpix, Magmar, and Onix.  
  
"If you've got a problem with me, then let's settle it here and now!"  
  
ordered Ross.  
  
"Is that a challenge?" asked Onix, towering to its full height, attempting  
  
to intimidate  
  
Ross.  
  
"YEAH," answered Ross, "So what are you going to do about it?"  
  
"Do you really think that it's a good idea to let Ross take on three  
  
pokemon at once?"  
  
Ponyta quietly asked Rattata.  
  
"I don't think it would be a good idea for them to try and fight ROSS!"  
  
whispered back  
  
Rattata.  
  
"I'll tell you what we're going to do about it," said Onix, "Uh, what are  
  
we going to do  
  
about it?"  
  
Everyone fell over at the stupidity of this question.  
  
"We're going to accept the weakling trainer's challenge..." started Vulpix.  
  
All of the  
  
other pokemon backed away from the approaching battle.  
  
"And beat him to a bloody PULP!!!" finished Magmar.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
After the three pokemon decided who would start the tag-team match, Ross  
  
and Vulpix  
  
took their battle stances.  
  
Vulpix started off with an ember, but Ross used telekinesis to send the  
  
flame back at  
  
Vulpix.  
  
"WOW!" exclaimed Ponyta, "How did he do that!?!"  
  
Vulpix was slightly singed, but kept coming. Vulpix next tried a quick  
  
attack, but missed  
  
when Ross used agility to dodge and dealt a karate chop.  
  
Vulpix was dazed and tagged in Onix. Since Onix was a youngster, Onix was  
  
only 12  
  
feet taller than Ross.  
  
Ross dodged Onix's tackle and delivered an ice punch. Onix was chilled and  
  
tagged in  
  
Magmar.  
  
Magmar, a little concerned about the power Ross had demonstrated, started  
  
out by  
  
blinding Ross with a smoke screen. Ross looked around and managed to see a  
  
light through the  
  
smoke.  
  
Ross closed his eyes and focused his energy. Magmar ran up at Ross for a  
  
fire punch.  
  
But Ross opened his eyes and strange energy from them bomb-barded Magmar. The  
  
smoke  
  
cleared and Magmar crawled over to Vulpix and Onix.  
  
Magmar simultaneously tagged Vulpix and Onix in to join him. The three  
  
pokemon  
  
surrounded him but Ross teleported out of the way. Ross used his telekinesis  
  
again, this time to  
  
grab Onix's huge tail.  
  
A orange light-rope appeared in Ross's hands and Ross started to swing it  
  
around. Onix  
  
flew around in a crazed pattern similar to how Ross swung the strange rope.  
  
Magmar and  
  
Vulpix hugged each other in fear as Onix flew towards the and wrapped around  
  
them.  
  
"Put me DOWN!" demanded Magmar, "I'm, get, ting, air, SI, YI, YICK!"  
  
Ross slammed the end of his rope in front of him, then behind him.  
  
Finally, Ross jumped  
  
into the air and swung the rope forward and under him in a huge circle before  
  
slamming the  
  
rope's end into the ground upon landing.  
  
Magmar, Vulpix, and Onix's head sat in a beaten-up heap. Unable to take  
  
any more  
  
damage, but still awake. Ross dropped the strange rope which disappeared upon  
  
landing on the  
  
ground.  
  
"Now, will I be having any more trouble from you three?" asked Ross, "Or do  
  
we need to  
  
restart the lesson?"  
  
All of the trouble-makers acknowledged that they had learned their lesson  
  
and that Ross  
  
was in charge. Ross put the pokemon back into their pokeballs and continued his  
  
way to the  
  
dragon gym of Cape Town. Chapter 67-A New Challenge  
  
That evening, Ross staggered into town at 6:04 PM. It was a busy day.  
  
Several of his  
  
pokemon had evolved, Ross taught Magmar, Vulpix, and Onix not to be  
  
overconfident, and Ross  
  
found someone to buy his useless gold nugget for $7500.  
  
Ross went to the local mall for fresh supplies and saw an interesting  
  
poster.  
  
23rd Pokemon and Trainer Derby  
  
Biking from Cape Town to Cerulean City  
  
Pokemon riding from Cerulean City to Gesav City  
  
check in at Cape Town pokemon center  
  
starts on July 3 at 9 AM  
  
Ross liked the thought of riding in a race and decided to get more info at  
  
pokemon center  
  
later.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
At the pokemon center, Ross and pokemon had a filling meal before looking  
  
at the  
  
pamphlet he got on the race.  
  
It was a two day race. The first part of the race for bicycling snaked  
  
through the country,  
  
over several bridges, down suburban roads, and even through a Motorcycle course!  
  
The second  
  
part of the race for pokemon-riding went up steep mountains, across a river on  
  
stones, and  
  
through the dusty desert surrounding Gesav City.  
  
"What a challenge," said Ross aloud as he read through the pamphlet as his  
  
pokemon  
  
exercised.  
  
The first leg of the race would be timed and the racers for the second part  
  
would be  
  
released in the same order and timing that they arrived. There was some logical  
  
rules and  
  
checkpoints to pass through. Finally, there was the entry fee of $50. The  
  
prizes included a  
  
portion of the funds, a new bicycle, and even new pokemon!  
  
Ross talked it over with his pokemon while he exercised. Ponyta  
  
volunteered to be the  
  
ride in the second part of the race. Ross and his pokemon exercised until the  
  
nurse sent them to  
  
bed. Tomorrow, Ross and pokemon had to go up against Bill and his dragon  
  
pokemon. Chapter 68-The Dragon Badge  
  
In the morning, Ross and his bike stood in front of a large lighthouse. He  
  
knew that  
  
inside was Bill, still asleep. Bill had set up a large tent nearby to  
  
temporarily serve as the gym  
  
since Team Rocket destroyed his gym in an attempt to rob the dragon pokemon.  
  
The tent held a marked floor with some weights and a treadmill along the  
  
sides. There  
  
was also a bookshelf holding pokemon medical and catching supplies. Another  
  
holding several  
  
books. And a third held up some unusual charms.  
  
"Simple,"said Ross.  
  
"Agreed," replied a voice behind Ross.  
  
Ross turned around and saw a man in a suit continue to say, "But it serves  
  
its purpose  
  
well enough."  
  
"Bill I presume," stated Ross.  
  
"Your presumptions are correct," said the man in the suit as he walked to  
  
the other end  
  
of the tent, "And I presume that you want to battle me for a dragon badge."  
  
"Your presumptions are also perfect," answered Ross.  
  
"3 on 3," instructed Bill, "Dragonite, go."  
  
A large orange fairy-tale looking dragon came out of Bill's pokeball. Ross  
  
pulled out his  
  
pokedex.  
  
"Dragonite," said the computer voice, "Believed by some to be extinct,  
  
Dragonite  
  
evolves from Dratini and Dragonair, Dragonite displays characteristics of a  
  
dragon pokemon that  
  
flies."  
  
'A part-flying pokemon,' thought Ross, 'electric pokemon should work well.'  
  
"Pikachu, go!" said Ross. Pikachu ran out, ready to battle the dragon.  
  
"Dragonite, agility!"  
  
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"  
  
Dragonite increased his speed, but couldn't get a wing out of the  
  
thunderbolt's path.  
  
Dragonite was weakened and paralyzed.  
  
"Dragonite, return," said Bill, "Modok, GO!!"  
  
A long green lizard-like pokemon appeared with whiskers drooping from its  
  
face.  
  
"Modok," said Ross's pokedex, "a ground/dragon pokemon, with a long forked  
  
tongue."  
  
"Earthquake," stated Bill.  
  
"Swift," instructed Ross.  
  
The ground started to shake and Pikachu was out of action.  
  
"Pikachu, return," ordered Ross.  
  
'What pokemon won't be near the ground,' wondered Ross, 'a flier!'  
  
"Pidgeotto, I choose you," said Ross, "Wing attack!"  
  
"Tongue wrap!" ordered Bill.  
  
Pidgeotto slapped Modok silly with its wings. Pidgeotto then flew upwards  
  
but was quite  
  
literally tongue-tied!  
  
"Squeeze tighter," instructed Bill.  
  
"Peck your way free," said Ross.  
  
Pidgeotto was being crushed by the long tongue of Modok. Pidgeotto swung  
  
his head  
  
back and pecked Modok's tongue until Modok let go.  
  
"Modok, use the poison sting!"  
  
"Pidgeotto, gust!"  
  
Modok opened his mouth and launched several small needles at Pidgeotto.  
  
Pidgeotto  
  
flapped its wings to generate a strong wind. The poisonous needles caught up in  
  
the wind and  
  
flew back at Modok.  
  
"Modok, look out!"  
  
The needles stabbed into Modok's skin, poisoning him. Modok was obviously  
  
in serious  
  
pain.  
  
"Modok, return," ordered Bill, "Dragos, GO!"  
  
A long red dragon appeared. It looked like one Ross saw in a book on  
  
Chinese legends.  
  
"Dragos, the fire dragon," stated the pokedex, "Dragos is considered by  
  
some to be the  
  
strongest of the dragons."  
  
Ross finally remembered to turn off the small computer and called for a  
  
whirlwind.  
  
Dragos retaliated with a flame thrower. The two attacks combined into a  
  
fire spin  
  
moving to Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto was severely burned and fainted.  
  
"Pidgeotto, return," said Ross, "Poliwag, GO!"  
  
The tired bird was replaced by a blue tadpole.  
  
"Dragos, Slash."  
  
"Poliwag, water gun."  
  
Dragos floated at the small tadpole, but was knocked back by a blast of  
  
water.  
  
"DRAGON RAGE!" proclaimed Bill.  
  
"Hypnosis," said Ross.  
  
Dragos started to breath heavily in anger, but calmed down when it saw  
  
Poliwag's spiral  
  
spinning. It wasn't too long before Dragos started to snore loudly. Dragos  
  
turned into a ball of  
  
red energy and flew into a pokeball in Bill's hand.  
  
"Looks like you beat me," said Bill as he walked over to the shelves of  
  
charms. Bill took  
  
one of them off a high shelf and tossed it at Ross. Ross caught it and saw that  
  
it was a small  
  
piece of metal designed to look like a coiled Dragos.  
  
"There's your Dragon Badge," said Bill, "Know if you'll excuse me.." Chapter 69-Sign-in and Hard-Knocks  
  
Back at the pokemon center, Ross signed up for the derby. Ross looked up  
  
the list and,  
  
of course, saw Adam and Ricky's name. Adam signed up to ride a Dodrio for the  
  
second part of  
  
the race and Ricky was going to use Ryhorn. Some of the other pokemon listed to  
  
be ridden  
  
were unbelievable. There was a Chansey, a Charmander, and even a Snorlax!  
  
After Ross paid the entry fee, he stepped outside to train. On his bike,  
  
Ross rode as fast  
  
as he could to a trail and tried to hurry along it. Ross was having a little  
  
trouble because his bike  
  
was built for riding on-road instead of off-road.  
  
Ross was making good progress when he saw a figure trying to hide. Ross  
  
thought it was  
  
nothing until it jumped out and threw a stick at Ross. The stick got stuck in  
  
the rear bike wheel  
  
and Ross crashed.  
  
Ross was shaken, but alright. The odd figure ran out, grabbed Ross's bike,  
  
and rode off  
  
on it. Ross, angry at the thief, called out Ponyta and rode after him.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
'That was SO easy,' thought the thief, 'Now I have the parts I need to fix  
  
MY bike.'  
  
Cl-CLOP, Cl-CLOP, Cl-CLOP!  
  
'What's that?' wondered the biker, looking over his shoulder. Seeing Ross  
  
riding his  
  
Ponyta, he naturally panicked.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Come back here YOU!" shouted Ross.  
  
The thief tried jumping a cliff, but the bike didn't survive. Unable to  
  
run, the thief called  
  
out an Abra and disappeared in a flash of white light.  
  
Ross examined his bike. The frame were bent out of recoverable shape, the  
  
rear wheel  
  
was flat and bent, the right pedal was cracked in two pieces, the brake cable  
  
had snapped, and  
  
the grips were gone.  
  
Ross sighed heavily, put Ponyta back into its pokeball, and carried the  
  
bike down the  
  
path.  
  
"NOW how am I going to be in the race?" Ross asked himself.  
  
After a while, Ross walked into the pokemon center, hauling his totaled  
  
bike. Ross sat  
  
down, trying to figure out what to do. He had made a lot of money as a pokemon  
  
trainer, but not  
  
enough to buy a new bike OR repair his damaged one.  
  
"But it only needs a few repairs!" protested a voice.  
  
"I don't think that I'll EVER be able to save up enough money to fix this  
  
lame excuse for  
  
a bicycle," complained another voice.  
  
Ross perked up at the sound of the word 'bicycle.' Ross looked over and  
  
saw two kids.  
  
One was carrying a severely damaged mountain bike.  
  
"So much for the race," said the biker.  
  
The kids stepped outside and tossed the bike into a large trash can. Ross  
  
ran up and  
  
removed the bicycle. Chapter 70-The Bike Race  
  
At the city limits, 37 racers lined up on their bikes, waiting for the  
  
clock to chime 9  
  
times. The last racer rode up to the check-in table.  
  
Dressed in a full-size helmet, goggles, jeans, and racing gloves, Ross took  
  
his wearable  
  
racer number, 38, a stamp with 38 on it, and an ink pad.  
  
"When you get to a checkpoint, use your stamp on the posted sheet before  
  
continuing,"  
  
instructed the officer behind the table, "There will also be a helicopter  
  
following the race and  
  
refreshments at each of the checkpoints if you want to stop for them."  
  
Ross walked his bike to his position and waited for race to start. He was  
  
pretty proud of  
  
himself. He used parts from his destroyed bike to repair the BMX and make a few  
  
modifications.  
  
He had mountain bike tires, 24 gears, and bull-horn handlebars for long  
  
distances. Ross  
  
also fixed up the shock absorbers and brakes, repainted the frame, and put on  
  
new grips. Ross  
  
also had a few theories to try out, but didn't know if they would work.  
  
"On Your MARKS!" proclaimed a starter with a pop gun.  
  
Ross and the other riders did any last minute strapping needed.  
  
"Get Set!" continued the starter.  
  
Everyone put a foot on an upper pedal, ready to start at the sound of the  
  
gun.  
  
"GO!!!" exclaimed the starter with a resounding bang.  
  
Ross and 37 other bikers started to pump their legs in a circle.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
After a lunch on the go, Ross had pulled ahead of most of the pack with  
  
about 7 other  
  
riders ahead of him. Ross didn't pay attention to the competitors.  
  
Ross saw another checkpoint coming up and readied his stamp. The other  
  
racers formed  
  
a line and stamped the paper as they rode by and picked up a drink. Ross did  
  
the same and soon,  
  
all 8 were off again.  
  
Soon, the group encountered a fallen log. The seven racers ahead of Ross  
  
slowed and  
  
rode around.  
  
'Time to see if theory #1 works,' thought Ross. He jumped off his bike,  
  
ran it along as  
  
fast as he could, and hurdled over the log. Ross set the bike back down and  
  
hopped back on.  
  
'Not bad,' decided Ross, 'Might have even gained on them a little.'  
  
After a few more checkpoints, another problem occurred. Someone had dug a  
  
hole in the  
  
dirt path, forcing the cyclists to detour through a wooded glen. Three cyclists  
  
that used a touring  
  
bike fell behind Ross and the others.  
  
'Good thing I kept these wide, knobby tires,' figured Ross.  
  
After Ross rode through a few more checkpoints, picking up a quick dinner.  
  
Eventually,  
  
Ross and the four riders reached the off-road portion of the race. The four  
  
racers made a quick  
  
lap through the motorcycle course before continuing through the streets to the  
  
pokemon center.  
  
Unfortunately, Ross took a spill on the last jump on the straightaway. By the  
  
time Ross got to  
  
his feet again, the other four had already started for the midpoint line a few  
  
blocks away at the  
  
pokemon center.  
  
Ross tried to catch up with the other bikers, but barely saw them pull up  
  
to the race table.  
  
Ross pulled on the brake handle and dismounted. Chapter 71-Ride 'em Pokemon  
  
The next morning, Ross was mounted on Ponyta, ready to start the race.  
  
Ross was going  
  
to have to wait for a while before he could run after the other four racers.  
  
Two of them were  
  
Adam on Dodrio and Ricky on Ryhorn. The other two were an unknown male on a  
  
Tauros and  
  
female on a Stamie.  
  
All of the other racers managed to catch up and, at most, be a minute  
  
behind. The  
  
starting lights flickered to life and only the red light remained lit. All four  
  
of the racers ahead of  
  
Ross got ready as the light turned yellow. Finally, the green light turned on  
  
and the first four  
  
pokemon ran off.  
  
A few seconds later, the lights repeated their cycle and Ross took off  
  
after the settling  
  
dust cloud.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"And there goes Ross on Ponyta, after Adam and the others," said Ash into  
  
his  
  
microphone, "Judging by how fast the first five ran off, it looks like this is  
  
going to be a limited  
  
race."  
  
"PI-pikachu," added a voice in the background.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Soon however, it looked like Ash was proven wrong. Everyone behind Ross  
  
ran in an  
  
even bigger rush than those before them.  
  
"Looks like everyone else is going to give it all that they've got in the  
  
beginning," stated  
  
Ash.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
When Ross reached the first challenge, a 500 yard dash up a 45 degree  
  
climb, everyone  
  
but Ricky was halfway up. Ricky, being on the endurant Ryhorn, reached the top  
  
easily.  
  
"Pace yourself Ponyta," instructed its rider, "We've still got a long way  
  
to go."  
  
Ponyta nodded and started up the slant. Someone rolled a metal barrel out  
  
onto the top  
  
of the slant after the last of the four had reached the top. The stranger used  
  
a crowbar to open  
  
the barrel before knocking onto its side. A strange black liquid poured the  
  
onto the racetrack.  
  
Ponyta reached the black goo halfway up the slant. Ponyta then started to  
  
struggle to  
  
keep his balance.  
  
"Oil!" exclaimed Ross, "Ponyta, use stomp to keep your footing."  
  
Ponyta slammed his hooves into the slick oil and climbed the rest of the  
  
way up the hill.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Oh-no! It looks like some prankster poured oil onto the hill," claimed  
  
Ash, "That's  
  
going to make it a good bit more difficult to climb the hill."  
  
"Pi-kachu."  
  
"Let's just hope that that was our only glitch. Our leaders are coming up  
  
on the hairpin  
  
section of our course."  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Ross and Ponyta arrived at a twisted road cut into a field. Ponyta tried  
  
to catch up to the  
  
fourth racer, but couldn't keep a fast pace in the several turns. They were  
  
able to reduce the gap  
  
when Ross leaned into the turns.  
  
The Tauros in third stumbled and fell over. Starmie floated by at the  
  
rider's left, but  
  
Ponyta couldn't run around when it made another turn.  
  
"JUMP!!!" yelled Ross when he realized that Ponyta was about to trample the  
  
rider.  
  
Ponyta leaped gracefully into the air and landed on the racetrack opposite  
  
of Tauros. The  
  
Tauros rider looked up, wondering why it wasn't a pancake.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"That was a close one! #12 was almost a road pizza!" Ash proclaimed.  
  
Pikachu let out a sigh of relief. Looking at another monitor, Pikachu saw  
  
Ponyta gallop  
  
over the crest of a hill. Ryhorn was leading the way down, followed closely by  
  
Dodrio, and  
  
finally, Starmie.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
The long slope ended in a valley with a small stream in the center and a  
  
large dam behind  
  
the racers. Most of the racers stuck to the left side where the entrance and  
  
exit was, but Starmie  
  
floated over the stream.  
  
About two-thirds of the way down the canyon, Ross passed Starmie and was  
  
about to do  
  
the same with Adam and Ricky.  
  
BBOOOOOMMMMM!  
  
Ross, Ricky, and Adam looked behind them for the source of the blast and  
  
saw a  
  
nightmare. Chapter 72-In and Out of Danger's Grasp  
  
The dam was gone and in its place was a fast approaching wall of water.  
  
Running at full  
  
speed, Ponyta and Ryhorn tried to outrun certain death.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"What a HORRIBLE accident! The Gyver Dam is gone and our leaders are in  
  
the  
  
valley," proclaimed Ash.  
  
"Pi-KAA!" yelled the terrified Pikachu.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Ryhorn, Ponyta, and Dodrio ran at top speed. Starmie just started riding  
  
the waves and  
  
was quickly catching up. Everyone was only 1000 yards from the exit when one of  
  
Dodrio's  
  
heads, anger, pecked at Ponyta.  
  
Ponyta slowed down and was about to be swallowed by the water when Ross  
  
cried out,  
  
"AGILITY!!!!"  
  
Ponyta flashed red and ran faster. Between Dodrio and the water-surfing  
  
Starmie, Ross  
  
and Ponyta escaped from the canyon.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"They all made it! All of our leaders escaped!" proclaimed Ash, "Starmie's  
  
out of the  
  
water and is hot on Ponyta's tail."  
  
Ash looked at the race map and said, "The next part of the race involves  
  
crossing a large  
  
river. Either by swimming, crossing on stones, or taking a long detour on a  
  
bridge."  
  
In the monitor, the four leaders approached the river. Ryhorn knew that it  
  
wouldn't be  
  
able to jump those stones with its short legs and it couldn't swim due to its  
  
type. Ryhorn was  
  
left with no choice but to take the detour to the bridge.  
  
Dodrio easily hoped across the stones and Starmie, who passed Ross and  
  
Ponyta, jumped  
  
into the water to start its swim. Finally, Ponyta started to hop across the  
  
stones.  
  
No one faltered, but Ryhorn had fallen behind. Ponyta, Dodrio, and Starmie  
  
were all  
  
fighting for the lead as they ran off for the food troughs.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
At the troughs of pokemon food, Dodrio fought over which head should do the  
  
eating.  
  
Ponyta and Starmie ate quickly while Starmie's trainer trash-talked the other  
  
riders. Some of the  
  
riders from behind showed up but got slowed down as their pokemon ate. Finally,  
  
Ponyta and  
  
Starmie finished simultaneously and ran off before Dodrio even had a bite.  
  
Desert sand started to appear under the pokemon and flew up behind them.  
  
After a  
  
while, the desert heat started to get to Starmie and Ponyta pulled away.  
  
Starmie, determined not  
  
to lose, started to spray Ponyta. While this slowed Ponyta, Starmie lost more  
  
water.  
  
Eventually, between the spraying Ponyta and desert heat, Starmie collapsed,  
  
leaving its  
  
rider in the desert.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Some riders tried to catch up, but was too far back. After a while, Ponyta  
  
collapsed from  
  
exhaustion and the endurant Ryhorn was still running after them. In a desperate  
  
attempt to stay  
  
in the race, Ross pulled out a bottle of Max Revive and applied it to Ponyta.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"We're waiting here in Gesav City, the end of the biking/pokemon derby,"  
  
said Ash in  
  
his booth, "The leader, Ricky on Ryhorn, has just come into sight and is on his  
  
way here without  
  
anyone else in sight. Wait, another pokemon has just been sighted."  
  
Waiting for the new pokemon to be identified, Ash and Pikachu waited in  
  
silence.  
  
"It's Ross and Ponyta!" proclaimed Ash, "Question though is this. Does  
  
Ponyta have  
  
enough left to pass Ryhorn from that far back?"  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
500 yards from the finish line, Ponyta had used its last agility to catch  
  
up to Ryhorn.  
  
Ryhorn wasn't about to slow down anytime soon and Ponyta still hadn't gotten  
  
around him  
  
400 yards. Whichever way Ponyta tried to pass on, Ryhorn blocked his way.  
  
300 yards. Ponyta worked his way near a fence and Ryhorn continued to  
  
block the way.  
  
200 yards. After a while, Ryhorn presumed Ponyta was trying to pass again.  
  
Ponyta kept  
  
running behind Ryhorn until there was enough space between Ricky and the fence  
  
for Ponyta to  
  
squeeze through.  
  
100 yards. Ponyta ran up along side Ryhorn. Realizing that blocking  
  
Ponyta was  
  
impossible, Ryhorn gave it everything he had.  
  
50 yards. The two pokemon battled for position. It was hard to tell who  
  
was leading.  
  
Several men next to the finish line stood up with an automatic camera.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
It took a while for the picture to develop before the results was  
  
announced.  
  
"Apparently, the biking\pokemon derby ends in a tie!" announced Ash, "In  
  
accordance to  
  
the rules, the two shall battle in a one-on-one pokemon battle." To Pikachu,  
  
Ash added, "This  
  
should be GOOD."  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Ryhorn and Ponyta squared off to battle in an average size arena. Ryhorn  
  
had a natural  
  
advantage over Ponyta, but Ryhorn couldn't naturally learn anything but normal  
  
attacks.  
  
"Ryhorn, tackle!"  
  
"Trap Ryhorn in a fire spin!"  
  
Ryhorn charged at Ponyta, only to be stopped by a curtain of fire.  
  
"Ember as many times as you can!" instructed Ross.  
  
Ryhorn was soon weakened by the immense fires and was getting tired by the  
  
time the  
  
fire spin died.  
  
"Take down!" ordered Ricky.  
  
"Use agility to dodge," said Ross.  
  
Ponyta ran out of the way, leaving Ryhorn with only the ground to soften  
  
its attack.  
  
"Get up!" yelled Ricky.  
  
"Stomp," stated Ross.  
  
Ryhorn struggled to get up, but was knocked back down by Ponyta's stomp.  
  
Ryhorn  
  
didn't have the strength to stand up with Ponyta on it. So Ryhorn fainted.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Once Adam arrived as the third person to finish the race, an elaborate  
  
awards ceremony  
  
took place. Adam was disgusted by his prize of a Togepi egg. Ricky was content  
  
with his new  
  
bicycle. Ross was given a bulky envelope and a fancy walkman. Chapter 73-The Psychic Badge  
  
When Ross woke up, he realized that he had to get the psychic badge before  
  
he left town.  
  
Getting dressed, Ross gathered his things and ate a quick breakfast.  
  
The pokemon gym looked like a famous, foreign opera house. Even though  
  
Ross didn't  
  
know the name of the familiar opera house, he walked into the gym's waiting  
  
room.  
  
The waiting room looked like that of a doctor's clinic. Pictures of  
  
pokemon and a bowl  
  
of not-so-rare candy altered the room to belong in a pokemon gym. Ross signed  
  
in and waited  
  
for his turn.  
  
After Adam and Ricky entered and left the battle area, Ross's number was  
  
called. He  
  
stood up and walked into the gym.  
  
A woman on the other side was sitting in a chair. A Drowzee at her left and  
  
a Haunter to  
  
her right.  
  
"I am Sabrina, leader of this gym," stated the dark-haired woman, "Do you  
  
wish to battle  
  
me?" After Ross confirmed, Sabrina continued to say, "1 on 1, I will use  
  
Drowzee."  
  
"I choose Beedrill then," said Ross. Beedrill and Drowzee ran out and met  
  
in a circle in  
  
the center of the room.  
  
"Pin missile," called Ross.  
  
Beedrill launched its stingers at Drowzee, replacing them soon after firing  
  
them.  
  
Drowzee was hurt, but still tried to hypnotize Beedrill. Beedrill got tired,  
  
but was still awake.  
  
"Focus energy," instructed Ross.  
  
Beedrill glowed briefly as it focused his energy. Drowzee jumped up and  
  
tried to pound  
  
Beedrill. Drowzee fell desperately short and missed Beedrill.  
  
"Agility," instructed Ross.  
  
Drowzee fired some strange beam at Beedrill, but missed its quick target.  
  
"Twineedle," ordered Ross.  
  
Drowzee swung its head at Beedrill and wound up stabbing its forehead on  
  
the  
  
Twineedle.  
  
"Poison sting," called Ross.  
  
Drowzee released a green cloud at Beedrill. Beedrill wasn't affected and  
  
stung the tired  
  
pokemon.  
  
"Finish him with a fury attack," stated Ross.  
  
Drowzee started to glow, but got caught up in the fury attack. Drowzee  
  
fell flat on its  
  
back and fainted.  
  
"You've trained your Beedrill well," complimented Sabrina, "The secretary  
  
will give you  
  
your badge."  
  
"Thanks," said Ross. He called Beedrill into the pokeball and left.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"I think I'm losing my touch," commented Sabrina once her opponent left.  
  
"I don't think so," argued Haunter, "That was one of the kids Ash said to  
  
keep an eye  
  
on." Chapter 74-  
  
Ross got some fresh supplies, a blank tape, and some music before leaving  
  
for a large  
  
saucer shaped object in the distance.  
  
"Cloud City," Ross explained to his pokemon, "It's home to a flying pokemon  
  
gym."  
  
"Small wonder," commented Venomoth, "It's so high up, it's perfect for  
  
flyers."  
  
"It's so high up!" exclaimed Raticate, "Must be hard for enemies to  
  
attack."  
  
"There's also some rumors that the city has been closed while Team Rocket  
  
took over,"  
  
said Ross.  
  
"Are they true?" asked Kadabra.  
  
"I don't know," answered Ross, "Only the citizens know for sure, has  
  
communicated in a  
  
long time. People have gone up, but not down."  
  
"Weird," said Pidgeotto.  
  
"No kidding," added Golbat.  
  
"I'm getting tired," complained Gyarados, "I'm going back into my  
  
pokeball."  
  
"Ok," said Ross as he let the flying/water pokemon in.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Enough about those kids already!" shouted Bruno, "We have got a big  
  
problem."  
  
"What is it?" asked Misty.  
  
"Cloud City has been shut down," explained Lance, "Communication in and out  
  
is down,  
  
and no one is coming down."  
  
"Send a Fearow recon," instructed Ash, "And block the entrance from  
  
trainers going to  
  
the gym." In Cloud City, Ross noticed that the streets were unusually empty.  
  
Shrugging it off, he  
  
proceeded directly to the pokemon gym. After filling out some forms, Ross  
  
waited for his turn.  
  
He listened to his favorite song, 2 B A Master, and read more out of Ash  
  
Ketchem's  
  
biography.  
  
"Na na na na na na na na na na na na," hummed Ross along with the song,  
  
"It's all 'bout  
  
the evolution of the POKEMON!"  
  
Finally, Ross was called out back to the arena. There was several stilted  
  
platforms and a  
  
man in a suit on a ladder stand.  
  
"I am George Hermanni," introduced the man.  
  
'Why does that name sound so familiar?' wondered Ross.  
  
"If you want a flight badge, then you will have to best me in battle,"  
  
stated Hermanni.  
  
"Then let's get it on," said Ross.  
  
The two trainers climbed a different ladder to battle. When both reached  
  
their lookout  
  
station, Hermanni said, "5 on 5. If either pokemon touches the ground, then they  
  
are out. I will  
  
start with Spearow, GO!"  
  
"I pick Pikachu, GO!" claimed Ross. Pikachu appeared on a platform while  
  
Spearow  
  
formed in flight.  
  
"Peck," ordered George  
  
"Thunder wave," said Ross.  
  
Spearow charged at Pikachu and went head first into the paralyzing  
  
electricity. Spearow  
  
had trouble moving, but managed to land on the platform with Pikachu.  
  
"Quick attack Spearow off!" called Ross.  
  
"Make up the speed difference with agility!" yelled George.  
  
Spearow increased its speed and was promptly knocked to the floor.  
  
"Spearow, return," ordered George, "Aerodactyl, hyper beam!"  
  
An off-white bird-like pokemon appeared. Before Ross could react, Pikachu  
  
was nailed  
  
hard by a white beam. Pikachu was knocked back onto Ross's ladder.  
  
"Thunder shock!" exclaimed Ross.  
  
"Bite," said an eerily calm George.  
  
Aerodactyl bit Pikachu who electrocuted the metal platform, shocking Ross.  
  
He pulled  
  
out his walkman, pushed a button and said, "Memo to self, *cough* purchase  
  
accuracy boosters  
  
for Pikachu."  
  
Meanwhile, Pikachu fell to the ground and fainted.  
  
"Pikachu, return. Jynx, GO! Blizzard!" cried Ross.  
  
"Agility!"  
  
It started to snow heavily and hit Aerodactyl hard. When the snow stopped,  
  
Aerodactyl  
  
was shivering on a low platform.  
  
"Aerodactyl, return," instructed George, "Go, Golbat. Wing attack!"  
  
"Ice punch," called Ross.  
  
Golbat flew at Jynx for the attack. Jynx swung a fist at Golbat, encasing  
  
it in a block of  
  
ice. George called back the frozen pokemon and sent out a Farfetch'd.  
  
"Sword dance and slash!" ordered George.  
  
"Lovely kiss!" instructed Ross.  
  
Farfetch'd did a quick dance before swinging its twig at Jynx's face. Jynx  
  
started crying  
  
over its face and Ross had to call it back.  
  
"Graveler, GO! Rock throw!"  
  
"Farfetch'd, leer," instructed George.  
  
Farfetch'd watched as Graveler coughed a rock straight to his head.  
  
Farfetch'd was  
  
pinned under the heavy rock.  
  
"Farfetch'd return,"called George, "Pidgeot, GO! Whirlwind!"  
  
"Graveler, TACKLE!"  
  
Pidgeot's whirlwind was too strong for even Graveler. The heavy boulder  
  
flew  
  
backwards off the platform into one of the supports holding up Ross's platform.  
  
The entire formation shook and leaned backwards. Next thing that Ross can  
  
tell, he's  
  
holding onto the top rung to avoid a long drop.  
  
"We'd say our poem now," said a voice. Looking down, Ross saw someone in a  
  
Team  
  
Rocket uniform. "But it looks like you're ALREADY in trouble." Chapter 75-The Great Escape  
  
"This is going to be so easy," commented George.  
  
"You said it boss," answered the Rocket, "Pidgeot, take his belt."  
  
Pidgeot flew over to Ross and started to scratch at the Ross's waist.  
  
"Ouch! That hurts!" exclaimed Ross as he pulled back a fist, "Why don't  
  
you fly away  
  
home!?!" Ross mega-punched the annoying bird, who flapped back, obviously in  
  
pain.  
  
"Gra-vel!"  
  
Below Ross, a dazed Graveler wobbled around. The team Rocket member was  
  
cornering  
  
him with a Vaporeon.  
  
"Graveler, return!" called Ross.  
  
The walking rock went back into its pokeball, leaving Team Rocket with only  
  
one target.  
  
After the belt again, Pidgeot tried to peck at Ross's hands. Ross closed his  
  
eyes as he cringed  
  
under the attack.  
  
Ross felt the anger and energy welling up inside of him until it was  
  
bulging at his eyes.  
  
When Ross looked, a white light hit Pidgeot, sending it 'blasting off again.'  
  
Ross wanted to find  
  
out what happened, but didn't have time.  
  
George Hermanni and the other Rocket were coming at him, with a familiar  
  
sight. A  
  
large blue bird with a white headband, flew out of a pokeball.  
  
"Articuno!" proclaimed a blue bird.  
  
"Articuno!" exclaimed Ross, "What are you doing here?" Articuno didn't  
  
speak to Ross,  
  
she just listened for instructions.  
  
"Peck," said the unknown Rocket.  
  
Articuno started to stab at Ross with its beak. Doing his best to avoid  
  
losing blood, Ross  
  
grabbed Articuno's neck and swung onto its back.  
  
"Bring him down here," instructed George.  
  
Ross saw a light on Articuno's headband flashed briefly and Articuno  
  
started to descend.  
  
"Not that way," disagreed Ross, jumping onto one of the battle platforms.  
  
"Now what do we do," asked the Rocket.  
  
"We use the ice beam Aroduc." explained George.  
  
Articuno overheard this and tried to freeze the distant Ross. Using  
  
agility, Ross managed  
  
to dodge the freezing cold beams.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Fea-ROW!" yelled an overhead bird.  
  
On the screen, a figure was trying to fight off an Articuno without any  
  
pokemon. The  
  
figure dropped off a platform and disappeared from sight.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
'How on in the wide world of Pokemon am I going to get out of this mess?'  
  
wondered  
  
Ross in the uncomfortable position. There was little space to move and wires  
  
all over the place.  
  
'It won't be too long until they realize what happened to me.'  
  
Ross looked out the tiny cracked-open door. Articuno, the mother of one of  
  
his  
  
pokemon, working for Team Rocket. Waiting on the floor, Articuno watched the  
  
Rockets talk  
  
over what to do.  
  
Ross couldn't make out what they were saying, but soon, all three went into  
  
a building.  
  
Taking advantage of his time, Ross slid down a support beam like a fireman and  
  
ran into a diner.  
  
The diner was sit-down style and full of people in Team Rocket uniforms and  
  
casual  
  
clothes. Ross acted naturally sat at a table.  
  
Ross ordered a steak and a drink so that he wouldn't stick out in the room  
  
of greedy  
  
eaters. Everywhere he looked, people were talking. Several words, Ash,  
  
Pikachu, Giovanni,  
  
Gary, Team Rocket, and steal, came up.  
  
"But I did all of those jobs already!" complained a kid at a nearby table.  
  
"Sorry Blast, but you're going to have to do one more job," commented a  
  
girl in uniform  
  
at the same table.  
  
"One more job, One more job, that's all I ever hear!" argued the boy,  
  
obviously 'Blast.'  
  
A teenage boy walked in and sat at the same table.  
  
"What are you complaining about NOW!?!" asked another uniformed teen.  
  
"Same old, same old," answered the girl.  
  
"AGAIN!?!" said the boy, "Even after we gave you that Nidorina?"  
  
"If you want it back you can have it and all of my pokemon," offered Blast,  
  
"I just want  
  
out to start my own journey."  
  
"Try making the offer to Gary or Giovanni," said the girl, standing up,  
  
"and stop bugging  
  
us with it."  
  
The two teens walked out and Blast just sighed.  
  
Doing his best to sound tough, Ross asked the now alone Blast, "What's  
  
wrong kid?"  
  
"It's a long story," stated Blast.  
  
"My favorite kind," claimed Ross, "Pull up a chair."  
  
Blast smiled at the offer and did as Ross said. "It all started when I  
  
went to get my  
  
starting pokemon..."  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"And so I'm stuck here until they either release me or send me off on  
  
another job,"  
  
finished Blast.  
  
"Bummer," said Ross, "You didn't even want to become a Rocket and they can  
  
pin you  
  
for so many bum raps." Ross popped in the last french fry on his plate.  
  
"Tell me about it," said Blast.  
  
Finishing off his meal, Ross glanced towards the door. No one had come in  
  
for quite a  
  
while, which gave Ross a case of the shivers.  
  
"I better get going," said Ross, "By the way, do you have the latest  
  
newsletter?"  
  
"Didn't you hear?" asked Blast.  
  
"Hear what?"  
  
"They gave up on the newsletter," answered Blast.  
  
"Really?" replied a genuinely surprised Ross.  
  
"Yeah,"said Blast, "Too many copies were being picked up by the cops."  
  
"Then how are we going to know where the big jobs are?"  
  
"Letters at the Pokemon Center," explained Blast.  
  
"Oh, of course!" proclaimed Ross.  
  
Suddenly, the front door opened and George and Aroduc walked in.  
  
"George," muttered Ross under his breath as they started checking and  
  
asking tables.  
  
"Who?" asked Blast. Looking at the man walking around, Blast corrected,  
  
"Oh, you  
  
mean Giovanni."  
  
Ross hopped out of his seat and said, "It's been a pleasure talking with  
  
you Blast, but I'm  
  
afraid that I have to go to the restroom, good evening." Ross walked as quick  
  
as he could  
  
without attracting attention to the restroom.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
'What a nice fellow that was,' thought Blast.  
  
"Hey Blast," said the tall Aroduc, "Have you seen this person?" Aroduc  
  
held out a  
  
surveillance camera photo.  
  
"Isn't that Ross Jacobsen?" asked Blast.  
  
"Yes," answered Aroduc, "He's a spy, which way did he go?"  
  
Blast was in shock, he didn't know if he could bring himself to turn in  
  
someone that he  
  
could almost consider a friend.  
  
"He went to the can!" called out a voice.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Inside the tile restroom, Ross turned the deadbolt knob. The only way out  
  
was a window  
  
with a screen, too high up to jump. A knock came from the door.  
  
"Open up Ross!" ordered Aroduc's voice, "We know you're in there."  
  
Trapped! Ross glanced all over the room. Toilet stalls, severely decayed  
  
sinks, a square  
  
vent on the ceiling, and no decent places to hide.  
  
THUD!  
  
Team Rocket was trying to break through the door.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
CRASH!  
  
Several members of Team Rocket ran in and saw a broken window.  
  
"How did he jump that high?" asked one of the trainers.  
  
"Who cares," answered another Rocket, "If we hurry, we might still be able  
  
to catch him  
  
before he escapes!"  
  
Everyone ran out before anyone could argue. A minute later, a pair of  
  
sneakers touched  
  
the tile floor and stepped out of the stall.  
  
"Like I always say Pidgeotto," Ross whispered to the bird sitting on the  
  
wall of a stall, "A  
  
person is smart, but a group of people is dumb. One of the reasons I prefer  
  
doing my pokemon  
  
journey alone."  
  
Walking back into the diner, Ross wasn't too surprised to find it empty.  
  
Everyone was  
  
behind the diner looking for him, so Ross easily got to the elevator.  
  
Unfortunately, the elevator was being guarded. Ross hid in an alley and  
  
tried to figure  
  
out what to do. If he tried to fly down to the ground, he would be spotted and  
  
who knows what  
  
would happen. He was going to need a distraction.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
Ross looked to his right. A Fearow was perched on a trash can.  
  
"Easy there," said Ross, "I'm not going to hurt you."  
  
Fearow stood on one leg and held out his right leg, saying, "Read this."  
  
Looking closely, Ross saw a note tied onto Fearow's leg.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Dear trainer;  
  
We are preparing to make a run on Cloud City. This will start  
  
tomorrow or when  
  
you get safely down, whichever comes first. Any information you can obtain will  
  
be most  
  
helpful in increasing the efficiency of capturing Rockets in the future. Fearow  
  
here will help  
  
you escape in any way possible. We look forward to meeting you.  
  
The Elite Masters of the Pokemon League  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Ross!" whispered a voice behind Ross. Turning around, Ross saw Blast.  
  
"What do you want?" asked Ross.  
  
"I think that I can help you get out of here," explained Blast, "Follow  
  
me."  
  
Blast led Ross and the Fearow through the alleys to the north edge.  
  
"There's our ride to safety," stated Blast.  
  
Looking to the edge, Ross saw several hang-gliders with Team Rocket  
  
insignias on them.  
  
All of which were guarded by half a dozen Team Rocket members.  
  
"All we need is a distraction," claimed Blast.  
  
Looking at the Fearow on his right shoulder, Ross said, "I think I have  
  
just the thing."  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
BRING!  
  
"Hello?" asked the bored Aroduc. They hadn't managed to find Ross and he  
  
could be  
  
anywhere by now.  
  
"Ross is trying to fly down on a Fearow from the South!" exclaimed a  
  
Blast's voice.  
  
"Thanks Blast," shouted Aroduc as he slammed down the phone.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"There he is!" proclaimed Giovanni, pointing through the setting sunlight  
  
at a Fearow.  
  
"Open FIRE!"  
  
Numerous Rockets lined up at the edge shot guns at the large bird.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Meanwhile, on the NORTH side of the city, two people were sneaking to the  
  
unprotected  
  
hang-gliders.  
  
"Are you sure about this?" asked Ross.  
  
The second form just nodded. This satisfied Ross as they strapped into  
  
different gliders  
  
and ran off the edge.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"It's a decoy!" exclaimed one of the firing squad.  
  
"Check the rest of the city!" ordered Giovanni. Everyone in the immediate  
  
area started  
  
to run around the city checking the edges and elevator.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Under the shadow of Cloud City, half of the local police were waiting. One  
  
of the police  
  
Growlithes started barking upward.  
  
"There they go!" exclaimed Jenny, "Start the blockade!"  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"He's on a hang-glider!" shouted one of the Rockets, "Someone is already on  
  
him."  
  
"Somehow, I don't think so," replied Aroduc, "AFTER THEM! Take  
  
tranquilizer guns, I  
  
want them alive!"  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"We made it!" exclaimed Ross to the other glider on his right.  
  
"I don't think so," answered Blast, looking behind them, "LOOK!"  
  
Looking back, Ross saw several other gliders and a couple helicopters  
  
coming after them.  
  
"Uh-oh," was all that Ross had to say.  
  
"FEAROW!" exclaimed a large bird at Ross's left.  
  
"Try to slow down Team Rocket," Ross instructed the bird.  
  
"FEAR!" cried the bird as it set out to do his task.  
  
"Now what do WE do?" asked Blast.  
  
"The closest safe place to land is Indigo Plateau," explained Ross, "I  
  
doubt that they're  
  
dumb enough to try an up-front attack there."  
  
"Gotcha!" stated Blast.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"What on Earth is that?" asked the helicopter pilot.  
  
"A distraction!" explained the passenger next to him. Fearow flew along  
  
the windshield  
  
and shattered it with drill peck.  
  
"AGH!" shouted the pilot as he was temporarily blinded by the glass. The  
  
helicopter  
  
started to fly wildly, scaring off some hang-gliders and the other chopper.  
  
Fearow flew at the  
  
second helicopter, tearing several hang-gliders along the way.  
  
"Just shoot the dumb thing!" ordered the radio.  
  
"Understood," answered the gunman by the open bay door.  
  
After taking careful aim, the mighty Fearow was shot and fell out of the  
  
sky into a large  
  
lake.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"So much for the distraction,"said Blast.  
  
"FEAROW!" exclaimed Ross, getting ready to turn around.  
  
"There's nothing that you can do now Ross," explained Blast, "He'll be  
  
fine. We're  
  
almost to Indigo Plateau."  
  
Looking forward, Indigo Plateau was getting closer.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"We're almost in range," commented the gunman, "But they're almost to the  
  
Plateau!"  
  
"If they make it, our set-up in Cloud City will be ruined!" exclaimed the  
  
voice on the  
  
radio.  
  
"They won't land on Indigo sir," answered the pilot.  
  
"They're in range and still about a mile to Indigo!"  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
A couple of whirring sounds passed Ross and Blast.  
  
"They're firing at us!" exclaimed Blast. A hole suddenly appeared in  
  
Blast's right wing.  
  
"I'm losing lift! I'm going down!"  
  
"No you're not!" ordered Ross. Dropping behind Blast, Ross passed to his  
  
right wing  
  
where the hole was.  
  
"That won't last long!" exclaimed Blast. Ross glided up and blocked the  
  
hole with his  
  
left wing.  
  
"It doesn't have to," explained Ross, "There's the Plateau now!"  
  
Sure enough, the flat mountaintop was getting very close. Looking to his  
  
friend, Ross  
  
saw that Blast had a dart sticking out of his right foot and was out cold. Ross  
  
moved out of  
  
Blast's way to avoid sending him into a spiral. The hole in Blast's glider let  
  
him decline slowly.  
  
Ross heard the terrifying sound of tearing canvas. Then Ross felt like he  
  
got stung in the  
  
seat by a Beedrill.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"I have good news and bad news sir," stated the pilot into the radio mike.  
  
"Out with it son!" demanded Aroduc's voice on the speaker.  
  
"Good news-Ross and Blast didn't land on Indigo Plateau," reported the  
  
pilot.  
  
"And the bad news?"  
  
"They crashed into the Pokemon League's courtyard," explained the nervous  
  
man. The  
  
speaker started to scream obscenities. Chapter 76-A Week Later  
  
When Ross came to, he was in a bed. The only person in the room was Blast,  
  
bandaged  
  
up and asleep in another bed. There was a third empty bed. The room was blurry  
  
to Ross. Next  
  
to Ross's bed was his sneakers, backpack, belt, and coat. Ross tried to sit up,  
  
but experienced  
  
pain all over.  
  
Ross's head and arms were wrapped in soft bandages, his right ankle caused  
  
stabbing  
  
pain whenever he tried to move it, and had a seriously bruised bottom.  
  
After a while, a nurse came in with a bowl of soup. "At least you're  
  
awake," commented  
  
the nurse, setting the hot bowl on the table next to Ross.  
  
"Where am I?" asked Ross.  
  
"The recovery ward at the Indigo Plateau Pokemon League Headquarters,"  
  
answered the  
  
nurse.  
  
"Whew," said Ross, "We made it."  
  
"If you don't mind my asking," started the nurse, "Why was Team Rocket  
  
after you?"  
  
"It's a long story," commented Ross, "But here goes..."  
  
Ross ate his soup as he explained the story of how he went up to Cloud City  
  
to get the  
  
trainer badge, how he met Blast, and their desperate escape.  
  
"Sounds like quite an adventure," said a figure in the doorway.  
  
The nurse smiled and said, "Hey Ash."  
  
"Hello Misty," replied the figure. Ross rubbed the blur out of his eyes  
  
and saw that the  
  
nurse was Misty and the other figure was Ash.  
  
"Good thing that you're awake," said Ash, "I wanted to meet the boy that  
  
caused such a  
  
fuss up at Cloud City before I left to see how Hagatha was doing at the ghost  
  
gym."  
  
Blast was starting to stir in the other bed.  
  
"Looks like your friend is going to be with us soon," commented Misty, "I  
  
better go get  
  
some more soup." Taking Ross's empty bowl, Misty left the room.  
  
"How long was I out?" asked Ross.  
  
"Almost a week," answered Ash, "You were in bad shape when you crashed into  
  
our  
  
courtyard. I've been keeping an eye on your pokemon for you."  
  
"Thanks," said Ross.  
  
"Ugh," moaned Blast, "My head..."  
  
"Welcome back to the land of the living," commented Ash.  
  
"Thanks, I think," replied Blast.  
  
"You two coming here caused quite a stir," stated Ash, "There was more  
  
action here than  
  
when I beat Gary!"  
  
"What's going to happen to Blast?" Ross asked.  
  
"Since he didn't know what he was doing his first crime and then was  
  
blackmailed, Blast  
  
is being released," answered Ash.  
  
"Really?" asked Blast, "I'm free?"  
  
"Yep," Ash continued, "And since there is no way to know for sure which  
  
pokemon goes  
  
where, you're going to be able to keep one of your pokemon. The rest will be  
  
leveled down, de-  
  
evolved, and distributed to starting trainers."  
  
"Okay," replied Blast.  
  
"We already sent a new flying gym leader to Cloud City," commented Ash,  
  
"Most of the  
  
Rockets bailed when the raid started."  
  
"I guess that means I have to go back," said a glum Ross  
  
"Nope," answered Misty, coming in with another hot bowl of soup.  
  
"Why not?" asked Ross  
  
"The Elite Masters took a vote and decided to award you both with the  
  
Flying badge,"  
  
stated Ash. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of small badges  
  
looking like a  
  
feather. Ross took the badge and thanked Ash. Blast did the same.  
  
"It's still going to be another day before you two can leave," commented  
  
Misty, handing  
  
Blast the soup. "We better let them get some sleep."  
  
"Just one more thing," said Ash, "Team Rocket is really going to be trying  
  
to get back at  
  
you guys. It's only going to be a matter of time."  
  
Ash and Misty walked out of the room and Ross realized that he was right.  
  
Sooner or  
  
later, Team Rocket would have their day. Chapter 77-Reminiscing  
  
The next day, Ross and Blast were ready to leave. Blast had to go to  
  
Pewter to get his  
  
first badge while Ross chose to tag along with Ash and Pikachu to Lavender. He  
  
still had the  
  
super ball from Seymour that Ross was hoping to use to catch a ghost pokemon.  
  
"Team Rocket has just about always been bugging me," said Ash, riding on an  
  
Aerodactyl, "Even when I was just starting out to get the badges. Back then,  
  
there was only 8  
  
badges to collect, then there was fifteen, and now I have trouble just  
  
remembering them all!"  
  
"There was some close calls with them," commented Pikachu, riding a  
  
Spearow, "Once,  
  
they tried to steal an entire herd of Kangaskhan!"  
  
"You're kidding!" said Ross from his Fearow. After a cold look from Ash  
  
and Pikachu,  
  
Ross corrected, "You're not kidding."  
  
"Butterfree in mating season, an undisturbed herd of Pikachu, even a  
  
pokemon that to  
  
this day I still can't identify," stated Ash.  
  
"I still say that it was a Dragonite," stated Pikachu.  
  
"And I say that it was too big to be a Dragonite," replied Ash.  
  
"Dragonite," said Pikachu.  
  
"I'll tell you one more time," said Ash, "It was..."  
  
Pikachu had sparks flashing in its cheeks.  
  
"Never mind," said Ash to avoid shock.  
  
'I wonder if my relationship with my pokemon will be like that in a few  
  
years,' wondered  
  
Ross.  
  
Before long, Ross, Ash, and Pikachu had landed in front of the ghost tower.  
  
Across the  
  
street from it was a pokemon gym. The three walked into a full waiting room.  
  
After talking to  
  
the receptionist, Ash turned to Ross.  
  
"Apparently, Hagatha went into the pokemon tower yesterday morning and  
  
hasn't come  
  
back yet," explained Ash, "It's very uncommon for a gym leader to stay more than  
  
24 hours  
  
from their gym."  
  
"Maybe something happened to her," suggested Pikachu in it's own language.  
  
"Let's go look for her," said Ross.  
  
Ash agreed and walked to get some of his best pokemon out of his account.  
  
When Ash  
  
and Pikachu was ready, they led the way into pokemon tower. Chapter 78-An Old Enemy?  
  
The light inside pokemon tower was dim, so Ross called out Charmeleon for  
  
light and  
  
Porygon in case they encountered any ghosts.  
  
"Why do we have to come back here? And what's with those pokemon out?"  
  
Pikachu  
  
asked Ash from his shoulder.  
  
Eager to keep his secret, Ross pretended not to understand Pikachu and  
  
asked, "What's  
  
wrong with your Pikachu?"  
  
"He wants to know why you have those pokemon out," answered Ash, "And why  
  
we're  
  
back here."  
  
"Back?" asked Ross.  
  
"We were here a long time ago, when I was ten," commented Ash, "It's a  
  
little personal,  
  
but we had a bad experience."  
  
"Oh, well," started Ross, "Ghost attacks don't affect normal pokemon, and  
  
Porygon has  
  
psychic attacks that take advantage of their semi-poison type. In my mind,  
  
Porygon is among the  
  
best pokemon to fight ghosts."  
  
"Oh..." said Ash and Pikachu at the same time.  
  
"Pretty smart," complimented Ash.  
  
"And Charmeleon's tail flame will act like a candle," finished Ross.  
  
There wasn't much in the tower. A few cobwebs, some decaying furniture, a  
  
large hole  
  
in the floor and ceiling, and layers of filth.  
  
'Guess ghosts don't bother cleaning,' figured Ross.  
  
The group passed a dirty mirror. After Ross passed it, he stepped back.  
  
"What are you doing?" asked Ash.  
  
"Most pokemon, ghosts included, use light patterns to put opponents to  
  
sleep," stated  
  
Ross.  
  
"So?" pushed Ash.  
  
"So, with a mirror, the ghosts might just put themselves to sleep,"  
  
finished Pikachu.  
  
"Oh," said Ash, "Okay."  
  
Ross wiped away the filth and saw a short ghost with legs and an off- white  
  
headband on  
  
behind him. The figure started to gather power.  
  
"DOWN!" exclaimed Ross, pulling Ash to the floor.  
  
The mirror shattered moments later.  
  
"What the?" asked Ash when the pokemon responsible cried out.  
  
"GEN-gar!"  
  
"Gengar, what are you doing?" asked Ash. Gengar didn't answer, he just ran  
  
off.  
  
"Did you know that particular pokemon?" Ross asked Ash.  
  
"Once, we were friends," explained Ash, "After a while, Hagatha caught him  
  
and our  
  
friendship continued."  
  
"Not in his mind apparently," commented Pikachu.  
  
"Maybe we better keep looking," suggested Ross. Chapter 79-Pokemon Tower  
  
Ross, Ash, Pikachu, Charmeleon, and Porygon worked their way through the  
  
tower  
  
without any signs of Hagatha. The party had encountered several ghost pokemon  
  
with the same  
  
unusual headbands as Gengar.  
  
The pokemon tried to scare them off, but Ross, Ash, and their pokemon  
  
weren't to be  
  
frightened by lame humor.  
  
"They always did have rather warped senses of humor," commented Pikachu.  
  
After checking each individual floor, the only place left for Hagatha to be  
  
was the roof.  
  
Looking out the trapdoor, it was quickly obvious that no one was around on  
  
that floor.  
  
"I didn't she'd be up there," commented Pikachu, "She has a terrible fear  
  
of heights,  
  
remember?"  
  
"Heights, that's RIGHT!" exclaimed Ash, running down the stairs.  
  
"What's right?" asked Ross, following Ash.  
  
"Pokemon tower has a basement," explained Ash, "The entrance has been  
  
hidden for  
  
years."  
  
"Then how do you know about it?" asked Ross.  
  
Ash didn't hear Ross as he ran over to an old cupboard. Opening it Ash  
  
revealed a door.  
  
Pikachu got even more scared when Ash reached for the doorknob.  
  
"That was just the one time Pikachu," Ash reminded Pikachu. While Ash  
  
turned the  
  
handle, Ross wondered what could be behind the door that was so terrible.  
  
Ash swung open the door and led Ross and his pokemon down the stairs.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Toys?" asked Ross, "This is what you were scared of?"  
  
Pikachu could only shudder. Unlike the rest of the rooms, this toy room  
  
was in excellent  
  
shape. A man in a Team Rocket uniform was asleep at a desk with more of those  
  
off-white  
  
headbands. An old lady was tied up on a merry-go-round.  
  
"Hagatha," whispered Ash. Ash started to walk up to the merry-go-round  
  
when Ross  
  
grabbed him.  
  
"What is it?" asked Ash.  
  
"Look," replied Ross, pointing at the ceiling.  
  
A face was peeking through from the main floor.  
  
"Gastly," whispered Ash.  
  
"How do we get past it?" asked Ross.  
  
"We'll have to distract it," commented Ash.  
  
"And how are we supposed to do that?" asked Pikachu.  
  
"I have got an idea," stated Ross, "I'll battle it."  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Start with psybeam," Ross whispered to Porygon.  
  
"Okay," replied Porygon. A beam of light shot out from Porygon's eyes and  
  
hit Gastly.  
  
Gastly cried out in pain, but didn't pull it's face out of the floor.  
  
"Psychic," instructed Ross.  
  
Porygon developed a blue light around him and Gastly cried out in pain  
  
again.  
  
"Gastly, defeat the loser," called a voice from below.  
  
"GA-stly," stated the fog as a face was removed from the floor to face  
  
Ross.  
  
"Psywave," called Ross.  
  
The Gastly was hurt, but flew after Ross.  
  
"Back off!" exclaimed Ross, doing a backflip.  
  
Ross's foot went through Gastly's body and hit his headband. Gastly  
  
hesitated before  
  
trying use lick. Ross grabbed Gastly's tongue and wound it around his body.  
  
"Use the night shade!" ordered the voice below.  
  
Ross pulled Gastly's tongue, spinning him like a top. Gastly was left  
  
dizzy.  
  
"That was incredibly sick," commented Ross, looking at his hand, "Ew, ghost  
  
slobber."  
  
Ross shook his damp hand in an effort to remove the offending ooze.  
  
"Gastly, take five," instructed the voice, "Gengar, get up there!"  
  
The Gengar that attacked Ross when he came in jumped out of the hole and  
  
took a  
  
fighting stance. Ross did the same and readied for what could be HIS toughest  
  
battle. Using  
  
telekinesis, Ross pulled down a broken old electric wire and held it like a  
  
whip.  
  
"Gen-gen-gen-gen-gar," laughed Gengar.  
  
"Come on," said Ross, motioning for Gengar to come and get him.  
  
This apparently greatly angered Gengar who charged at Ross. Ross swung up  
  
the make-  
  
shift whip. The cable wrapped around Gastly's headband and was swung into  
  
Gengar.  
  
Gengar was knocked through the floor, leaving behind his headband.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
In the basement, Ash and Pikachu were battling against the Rocket and his  
  
Cubone.  
  
"Don't give in Pikachu," called Ash, "Swift attack."  
  
"Bonemerang," stated the Rocket in a calm voice.  
  
Cubone wound up to through his bone when Gengar was knocked through the  
  
floor onto  
  
Cubone.  
  
"Bone," moaned Cubone. Gengar shook its head, trying to regain its  
  
bearings.  
  
"What are you doing down here!?!" asked the Rocket, "Get back up there and  
  
finish the  
  
job! Hey, where's your mind-band?"  
  
Gengar just looked around and saw his trainer tied up and friends trying to  
  
save her.  
  
Determined to help, Gengar used nightshade on the Rocket.  
  
"Ouch," said the Rocket before falling to Gengar's hypnosis power.  
  
Looking around, Gengar realized that he hypnotized Ash, Pikachu, the  
  
Rocket's Cubone,  
  
and Hagatha as well.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Back on the main floor, Ross had gotten a hold of Gastly's mind-band and  
  
removed it.  
  
Gastly didn't fight to keep it because he was last told to rest.  
  
When Gastly regained his bearings, he dropped through the floor into the  
  
basement.  
  
Ross took the stairs.  
  
Everyone was asleep except for a Gengar and a tired Gastly. Ross  
  
transferred the ropes  
  
on Hagatha to the Rocket before sitting down to wait for everyone to wake up.  
  
"I still don't understand why Pikachu hates this place so much," said Ross,  
  
attracting the  
  
attention of the ghosts.  
  
"HAU-HAU-HAU!" exclaimed a strange voice from above. Everyone that was  
  
awake  
  
looked up to the hole in the ceiling to see a Haunter, like Sabrina's float  
  
down.  
  
"It's really quite simple," said Haunter's voice in his head, "Ash and  
  
Pikachu both  
  
literally had an out-of-body experience here."  
  
"Woah," muttered Ross while Gengar and Gastly flew up to their friend. The  
  
three  
  
pokemon talked while Ross just watched. Apparently, Haunter was giving Gastly a  
  
hard time  
  
about something. Ross considered tapping into their conversation by reading  
  
their minds, but  
  
decided against it. Hagatha yawned as she woke up.  
  
"Good morning," said a cheerful Ross.  
  
"Hello," said Hagatha in an aged voice, "Who are you?"  
  
"My name is Ross Jacobsen. I came here with Ash when we arrived and found  
  
out that  
  
you weren't in the gym." explained Ross.  
  
"Ash is here?" said a surprised Hagatha, "Where is he?"  
  
"He's sleeping over there," stated Ross pointing at a figure slumped  
  
backwards over a  
  
swing. Pikachu was leaning against a rocking horse, snoring loudly. Hagatha  
  
just shook here  
  
head.  
  
"What are you doing here Haunter?" Hagatha asked the floating figure.  
  
Haunter talked  
  
in his own way for a while. "Whatever," replied Hagatha.  
  
It was a little longer before Ash, Pikachu, and the Rocket woke up.  
  
Forcing the Rocket  
  
to reveal the control panel for the local mind-bands, Ash proceeded to destroy  
  
it.  
  
When Ash was finished, everyone walked out of the tower with Gastly  
  
following them in  
  
vapor form.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"After talking with Ash and my Gengar," started Hagatha, "I've decided that  
  
there is no  
  
need to battle you. I believe that you have already earned the right to have a  
  
ghost badge."  
  
Ross was a little surprised when Hagatha handed a small badge resembling a  
  
Haunter to  
  
him.  
  
"Thanks," said Ross, turning to leave.  
  
"One more thing," said Hagatha, "Gengar says that Gastly has been following  
  
you in  
  
vapor form, seeking a rematch against you. If you win again, he'll be yours."  
  
Looking behind him, Ross saw Gastly in the gym arena, waiting for Ross's  
  
choice. Ross  
  
stepped into the arena and said, "You're on. Go Porygon! Psychic."  
  
Gastly tried to use night shade on Porygon. Unaffected, Porygon fired a  
  
beam of light at  
  
the ghost, weakening it.  
  
"Psywave," called Ross.  
  
Gastly was bombarded by mental energy, bringing it down. Ross pulled out  
  
the orange  
  
super ball and pushed a button. A red beam shot out and encased the cloud of  
  
gas.  
  
Gastly struggled to avoid being pulled into the round prison. Moving  
  
closer to it Gastly  
  
knew that he couldn't fight the powerful super ball. Gastly was pulled in and  
  
stopped struggling. Chapter 80-Interview With Ash  
  
When Ross came out of the gym doors, Ash and Pikachu were still waiting.  
  
"Hey Ash," called Ross, "Before you go, I have to ask you some questions."  
  
"Why don't we talk it over lunch?" suggested Ash.  
  
"Okay," agreed Ross, "Let's go."  
  
Ross, Ash, and Pikachu took a short walk to the only diner in town.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
After being seated, Ross ordered a soup/salad combo, Ash requested some  
  
fried chicken,  
  
and Pikachu asked for an appetizer size portion of cheese bread. Ross reached  
  
into his pocket  
  
and hit the button to record the conversation to listen to later.  
  
"First question," said Ross, "Why is there so many gyms nowadays?  
  
"Well," started Ash, "Like every other job, new people have to be allowed  
  
in. Gym  
  
leaders retire and the new leaders change the gym type. The other reason is  
  
because new gyms  
  
were built, developing a more complex system."  
  
"No kidding," commented Pikachu.  
  
"Second question," explained Ross, "I heard a rumor that in order to become  
  
an Elite  
  
Master, you have to beat everyone else in the League in one year."  
  
"That's actually not far off," commented Ash, "Every once in a while, we  
  
hold a  
  
tournament among the lower level trainers. The winner gets to take on the Elite  
  
Master trainers  
  
in a pokemon battle and a quiz developed by our breeders. If anyone does well  
  
enough in these  
  
fields, they are permitted to join the Elite Masters."  
  
"What's life like up on Indigo Plateau?"  
  
"It's interesting," stated Ash, "but I enjoy coming down to look for more  
  
pokemon and  
  
have some human interaction."  
  
"AHEM!" exclaimed Pikachu.  
  
"No offense," apologized Ash.  
  
"How long have you been a trainer?"  
  
"About, what is it now, 10 years?" Ash asked Pikachu.  
  
"There-abouts," added Pikachu.  
  
"Is there a reason why Pikachu doesn't evolve?"  
  
"Pikachu just didn't like the idea of evolving," explained Ash, "That's  
  
fine with me, he  
  
just took a counteragent to prevent him from evolving. We have a super thunder  
  
stone locked  
  
away that only Pikachu has a key to. Only that thunder stone can evolve Pikachu  
  
here."  
  
"What are you planning to do about Viridian Gym?"  
  
"Right now, Gary's caught up in the court system," explained Ash, "If he  
  
avoids jail,  
  
he'll take back the position of Viridian Gym leader." Pikachu gritted his teeth  
  
at the thought of  
  
Gary.  
  
A waiter walked up with a tray of their order. After handing out the food,  
  
the waiter  
  
asked Ash and Pikachu to each sign a pokeball for his son. Granting the  
  
request, the Ross  
  
politely waited while his dining partners each signed a pokeball provided by the  
  
waiter.  
  
"This sort of thing happens all the time," explained Ash, "Everywhere we  
  
go, someone  
  
always recognizes us and wants a signature or advice."  
  
"Why don't you just stay up on Indigo Plateau?" asked Ross.  
  
"If I did that," said Ash, "It wouldn't be any different than a jail!"  
  
"I see your point," said Ross as the group started to eat.  
  
Ross asked a few more questions while they ate. How many Elite Master have  
  
there  
  
been? What he did in his free time? What was his favorite gym? And the like.  
  
Finally Ross hit a nerve. "Have you had any girlfriends?"  
  
Ash didn't answer at first, so Pikachu said, "That's a touchy subject.  
  
He's got a crush  
  
on..."  
  
"Pikachu!" exclaimed Ash.  
  
"He can't understand me," argued Pikachu.  
  
Changing the subject, Ross asked, "I've heard that some people can  
  
understand their  
  
pokemon, word for word. Any idea on how this is possible?"  
  
"There are some people that can only understand their starting pokemon,"  
  
claimed Ash,  
  
"Others are able to understand only their pokemon, and even more claim to be  
  
able to  
  
understand any pokemon specie that they spend enough time with."  
  
The waiter came back with a check and Ross picked it up. Ash looked a  
  
little puzzled by  
  
this, but Ross said, "It's the least I can do since you answered my questions."  
  
Satisfied with this, Ross paid at the cash register and walked down the  
  
street with his  
  
companions. After healing their pokemon, Ash and Pikachu called their birds and  
  
got ready to  
  
fly back to Indigo.  
  
"See you around Ross," said Ash as Pikachu mounted Spearow, "You're shaping  
  
out to  
  
be a decent trainer." Ash held out a hand and added, "Keep in touch."  
  
Ross shook Ash's hand and said, "You got it."  
  
Ash mounted his Aerodactyl and said, "I'll see you when you get all of the  
  
badges."  
  
And with that, the two birds flew off to the west. Ross just stood there  
  
and watched his  
  
new friends fly off under the setting sun. Chapter 81-  
  
"I say that we take his pokemon NOW!" declared Aroduc. The top 5 Team  
  
Rocket  
  
leaders were having a tele-conference with a prisoner on the phone.  
  
"No," said the prisoner on the phone, "If we wait, he will gather even MORE  
  
powerful  
  
pokemon for us."  
  
"But if we wait too long," argued another leader, "He might have too MANY  
  
powerful  
  
pokemon for us to take from him."  
  
"We're wasting time arguing," stated George Hermanni, "As we speak, Ross  
  
and Blast  
  
are getting stronger!"  
  
"I have already developed a plan," claimed the prisoner, "In the envelope  
  
you sent me, it  
  
speaks of Ross having a brother."  
  
"Yes, Adam Jacobsen," said a fourth man in the room, "What about him?"  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Use the flame thrower Vulpix," called Ross.  
  
"Absorb!" shouted the young boy.  
  
Several flames emerged from Vulpix's mouth, leaving Oddish looking like the  
  
remains  
  
of a mini forest fire.  
  
"Absorb THAT," said Vulpix, trying to sound like an action hero.  
  
"Finish it off with a body slam," called Ross.  
  
The weak Oddish couldn't withstand the powerful hit and fainted.  
  
"Oddish, return!" called Ross's opponent, holding up a pokeball. Oddish  
  
turned into a  
  
mass of red energy when the return beam hit it. The Oddish energy flew into its  
  
pokeball to rest  
  
until the next battle.  
  
"Good battle," Ross said, reaching out for a handshake.  
  
"Thanks, but I still lost," said the trainer, shaking Ross's hand.  
  
"You could probably just use some more variety in your pokemon," stated  
  
Ross, "Even a  
  
gym leader should have at least 3 different types of pokemon for self- defense."  
  
"Good point," replied the young boy, "Here's your winnings."  
  
The boy handed Ross some money and left to treat Oddish's burn in a nearby  
  
stream.  
  
Ross pocketed the money and called over the rest of his pokemon over.  
  
"We better hurry if we're going to reach Stone Town by nightfall,"  
  
explained Ross, "It  
  
should just be down this road."  
  
Some of Ross's pokemon thought that it was too far to walk,(or fly as some  
  
cases may  
  
be.) and chose to ride in their pokeballs. Others decided to just stay out for  
  
a while. Walking  
  
along, they noticed a lady trying to beat off some eggs with a broom.  
  
"You horrible pokemon," cried the woman, "Leave my garden alone!"  
  
Wondering what was going on Ross used his pokedex on the eggs. A picture  
  
of a dozen  
  
eggs with faces appeared on the screen.  
  
"Exeggcute, a swarm pokemon," stated the mechanical voice, "This pokemon  
  
displays  
  
psychic and grass type characteristics. It has the potential to evolve when  
  
exposed to the leaf  
  
stone."  
  
"Shoo!" cried the woman. The eggs started to glow.  
  
"Hypnosis," explained the pokedex, still aimed at the eggs, "This technique  
  
is used by  
  
many psychic pokemon to put enemies to sleep by sight." The lady started to get  
  
blinky.  
  
Looking away from the herd of eggs, Ross told Growlithe and Vulpix to roar.  
  
The two  
  
pokemon did and the Exeggcute ran off, well hopped off. The roar also woke up  
  
the woman.  
  
"You okay?" Ross asked.  
  
"Yes, but those horrible grass pokemon are going to come back," complained  
  
the  
  
woman, "Would you mind staying to scare them off?"  
  
"Well, I'm in kind of a hurry to get to Stone Town," explained Ross.  
  
"No problem," said the woman, "If you help me out, I'll give you a lift in  
  
my car. I'll  
  
also cook you dinner."  
  
"FOOD!" barked Growlithe hungrily.  
  
"Transportation would be faster in a car than by foot," stated Vulpix.  
  
"I guess its unanimous," commented Ross.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
That night Ross waited by the window for the pokemon. He spent time trying  
  
to  
  
determine which pokemon were causing all of the trouble. Four pokemon were  
  
described and  
  
Ross had them displayed on his pokedex's screen. Ross also had a mirror sitting  
  
next to him that  
  
he borrowed from the owner.  
  
"Oddish, Bellsprout, Exeggcute, and Tangela," commented Ross, "All grass  
  
type,  
  
Bellsprout and Oddish are also part poison." Oddish was a small green plant  
  
with leaves  
  
emerging from its head and short legs. Bellsprout was a walking flower with a  
  
yellow head.  
  
There wasn't any movement outside until about 7 in the evening. A mass of  
  
vines was  
  
walking through the gate and heading for the garden. Ross was going to walk  
  
outside, but  
  
Tangela wasn't alone. Oddish, Bellsprout, and Exeggcute were following him.  
  
Once all four pokemon were in the garden, Ross used telekinesis to close  
  
and lock the  
  
gate. None of the grass pokemon noticed this little trick. Ross walked out the  
  
door and turned  
  
to face the garden with hiding pokemon.  
  
"I know that you're in there!" proclaimed Ross, "I challenge all four of  
  
you to a battle!"  
  
The four pokemon walked out and took a battle stance. Ross replied by  
  
pulling out 4  
  
pokeballs.  
  
"Charmeleon, Growlithe, Pidgeotto, Gastly, GO!" exclaimed Ross, throwing  
  
his chosen  
  
pokeballs. The four pokemon appeared and Ross said, "Gastly, night shade to  
  
Exeggcute,  
  
Pidgeotto, wing attack to Tangela, Charmeleon and Growlithe, flame thrower to  
  
Oddish and  
  
Bellsprout!"  
  
Exeggcute tried to barrage Gastly, but went right through him. Bellsprout  
  
used growth  
  
and Oddish tried using poison powder on Gastly, but hit Exeggcute instead.  
  
Tangela constricted  
  
Pidgeotto.  
  
Charmeleon and Growlithe thoroughly cooked Oddish and Bellsprout with their  
  
flamethrowers. Pidgeotto couldn't get lose to use wing attack and Gastly nailed  
  
Exeggcute with  
  
night shade.  
  
Oddish and Bellsprout were burned, Pidgeotto was being pulled in by  
  
Tangela, and  
  
Exeggcute was tired from the night shade and poison.  
  
Considering the positioning, Ross called out, "Charmeleon, trap Oddish and  
  
Bellsprout  
  
in a fire spin, Growlithe, bite off the vines holding Pidgeotto, Gastly, lick  
  
Exeggcute."  
  
Oddish tried to use another powder and Bellsprout tried to use vine whip.  
  
Both of which  
  
were burned when Oddish and Bellsprout were trapped in a fire spin. Tangela put  
  
the squeeze  
  
on Pidgeotto and was soon bitten so hard by Growlithe, that he dropped the bird.  
  
Exeggcute  
  
used reflect to gain armor, but couldn't move when Gastly licked them.  
  
Seizing the opportunity, Ross threw a pokeball at Exeggcute.  
  
Unfortunately, Exeggcute  
  
broke out and knocked away Gastly with a solar beam. Ross called back Gastly  
  
and noticed that  
  
Exeggcute was starting to glow in an attempt to hypnotize Ross and his pokemon.  
  
'Here we go,' thought Ross.  
  
Ross pulled the locker mirror out of his pocket and held it up to  
  
Exeggcute. Exeggcute  
  
continued to perform its hypnosis act even though no one was watching except for  
  
the second  
  
Exeggcute.  
  
Before too long, Exeggcute was snoring loudly and Oddish and Bellsprout was  
  
in no  
  
shape to fight. Ross caught each in a pokeball and turned his attention to  
  
Tangela.  
  
Tangela naturally freaked. It released stun spore on Ross's pokemon,  
  
making them all  
  
unable to battle. Ross reached for the pokeballs for his paralyzed pokemon, but  
  
they were gone,  
  
along with all of his other pokeballs.  
  
"Tang-el," called the vine pokemon, waving Ross's belt like a pendulum.  
  
"You little thief," accused Ross, "I guess I'm going to have to do this the  
  
hard way."  
  
Ross pulled out his pocket knife and opened a blade. Tangela tossed the  
  
belt onto the  
  
house's roof, making it unaccessible until Ross got a ladder. Ross adjusted his  
  
grip on the knife  
  
in his right hand and held it to cut when Ross would do a karate chop.  
  
Tangela started the show down by wrapping its vines around Ross's forearms  
  
and shins.  
  
Ross retaliated by dealing the ground a right karate chop. This freed his right  
  
hand, knife, and  
  
hurt Tangela.  
  
Ross cut off the vine on his left hand before Tangela let go of Ross's  
  
legs. Next, Tangela  
  
regrew its lost vines with growth before being low kicked by Ross.  
  
Tangela flew into the fence and got ready to slam Ross against a tree.  
  
Ross scared  
  
Tangela out of it by swinging his knife at the vines that reached for him.  
  
Tangela started to  
  
release another unusual powder which was starting to drift to Ross.  
  
Ross threw down the knife which was stuck in the ground, standing at an  
  
angle. Ross  
  
quickly grabbed Tangela with telekinesis and pulled him into the dust.  
  
All of the dust got caught in the sudden movement and fell onto Tangela.  
  
Ross let go of  
  
Tangela and listened to its snoring. Pulling out another pokeball, Ross caught  
  
the snoring pile of  
  
vines. TO BE CONTINUED 


	5. Act 5

Sibling Rivalry  
  
By Ross Jacobsen (rbjake@teleport.com)  
  
  
  
Chapter 83-A New Move  
  
By the time Ross stepped out of the front seat of the car, it was about  
  
half an hour to  
  
curfew. Ross said goodbye to his driver and scaled the steps in front of the  
  
pokemon center.  
  
Inside, a Nurse Joy and a Chansey was behind the front desk. The entry  
  
room was empty  
  
of life except for the nurse and pokemon.  
  
"Just in time," said the Nurse Joy behind the front desk, "I was just about  
  
to have  
  
everyone start for bed."  
  
"Before you do, I have a couple of seriously burned plant pokemon that I  
  
just caught,"  
  
explained Ross.  
  
"Alright," commented the nurse, "Chansey, could you heal his pokemon for  
  
me?"  
  
"Chan-sey," agreed Chansey, taking Ross's belt of pokeballs. Ross got set  
  
for bed while  
  
he waited for Chansey to finish treating his pokemon. When Ross got his belt  
  
back, he walked  
  
over to a cot and slid his stuff under it.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
The next day, Ross got up to visit the rock gym. He grabbed some breakfast  
  
from the  
  
trainer's buffet and started out.  
  
Outside, everyone was talking about evolution stones. Fire, leaf, thunder,  
  
water, mind,  
  
mist, and moon stones. Several people were talking about stone deposits and  
  
claims. According  
  
to Ross's pokedex, the best place to dig for evolution stones was on evolution  
  
mountain, only a  
  
few hundred feet away.  
  
On his way to the gym, Ross noticed an evolution zoo. Ross heard the cries  
  
of several  
  
pokemon inside and decided to go in later to check it out.  
  
The gym was shaped like a giant boulder and just about everything in it was  
  
gray. Ross  
  
didn't have to wait too long before the gym leader opened the main gym.  
  
"My name is Brick Stone," introduced the gym leader, "I lead this gym, do  
  
you want to  
  
challenge me?"  
  
"Yes," stated Ross.  
  
"3 on 3, basic rules," explained Brick, "I will start with Rhyhorn, GO!"  
  
"Machoke, GO!" called Ross, "Low kick!"  
  
"Stomp!" instructed Brick.  
  
Machoke ran up at Rhyhorn before sliding in like a baseball player would.  
  
Rhyhorn  
  
reared up and stomped on Machoke's leg as it approached for the low kick.  
  
Machoke was  
  
pinned and wasn't able to kick.  
  
"Karate chop!" shouted Ross.  
  
"Horn attack," ordered Brick.  
  
Rhyhorn tried to stab Machoke with its horn, but Machoke dodged and managed  
  
to land  
  
a karate chop on Rhyhorn neck. Rhyhorn was knocked away and Machoke was able to  
  
stand up.  
  
"Seismic toss!" proclaimed Ross.  
  
"Tail whip!" called Brick.  
  
Machoke grabbed Rhyhorn's tail and one of his rear legs before spinning  
  
around in a  
  
circle. Before too much longer, a gray form was launched across the room.  
  
Rhyhorn crashed  
  
into the opposite wall and fainted.  
  
"Rhyhorn, return," called Brick, "Go Golem!"  
  
The large boulder replaced the fainted rhino, ready to continue the battle.  
  
'Machoke might not be able to battle Golem with that weak leg,' thought  
  
Ross.  
  
"Machoke, return," recalled Ross, "Wartortle, GO! Water gun!"  
  
"Rock throw!"  
  
Golem was hit hard by the water before chucking several rocks at Wartortle. Instinctively, Wartortle withdrew into its shell. The rocks just bounced off  
  
Wartortle's shell.  
  
"Bubblebeam!" cried Ross.  
  
"Harden," instructed Brick.  
  
Golem turned a dark black before being hit by the stream of bubbles. Golem  
  
was hit  
  
hard, but still hanging in there.  
  
"Explosion," ordered Brick.  
  
Golem glowed white and vanished in a cloud of dust. When the smoke  
  
cleared, two  
  
unconscious pokemon were visible. The trainers called back their pokemon and  
  
threw out their  
  
last pokeball.  
  
"HITMONLEE!" called Ross's tan pokemon.  
  
"OONNNNN!" roared Brick's long rock snake.  
  
Ross's jaw dropped open. "Oh SHOO..."  
  
Ross was interrupted by another roar from Onix. Hitmonlee was a little  
  
nervous, but  
  
took a confident fighting stance.  
  
"Tackle," called Brick.  
  
"Rolling kick," replied Ross.  
  
Onix's head went straight down at Hitmonlee. Hitmonlee dodged easily,  
  
rolling under  
  
Onix to land a kick to his mid-section. Onix doubled over in pain until its  
  
trainer called out  
  
another order.  
  
"Bind!" called Brick.  
  
"Jump kick," shouted Ross over another one of Onix's roars.  
  
Onix surrounded Hitmonlee and tried to close in around him. Hitmonlee was  
  
still to fast  
  
to be caught and landed a kick on Onix's elevated head. Onix was left dazed  
  
while Hitmonlee  
  
landed elegantly.  
  
"Screech!" ordered Brick.  
  
"Double kick," instructed Ross.  
  
Onix let out an ear-piercing sound which threw off Hitmonlee. Instead of  
  
doing the  
  
double kick that Ross asked for, Hitmonlee started swinging a foot around until  
  
he seemed to be  
  
floating in the air, approaching Onix.  
  
Uncertain what Hitmonlee was doing, Ross analyzed the move. "Hitmonlee is  
  
doing an  
  
unknown attack," claimed the voice.  
  
"Rock throw Onix!" exclaimed Brick.  
  
Onix spat several rocks at Hitmonlee. Hitmonlee adjusted his altitude and  
  
kicked each  
  
rock, reducing them to dust.  
  
"YIKES!" yelled Brick and Onix simultaneously.  
  
'Incredible,' thought Ross.  
  
"I YIELD!" shouted Brick. Petrified for his pokemon, Brick held up a  
  
pokeball and said,  
  
"ONIX, RETURN!"  
  
Onix was hit by the return beam and had a smile the size of Saffron City on  
  
his face.  
  
Hitmonlee eventually stopped and held his head in dizziness, stumbling to  
  
maintain balance.  
  
"Woah," Hitmonlee said about hit new move, "I think I'm going to take a  
  
little nap  
  
now." Hitmonlee fell flat on his back, tired and dizzy, but still conscious.  
  
Ross and Brick ran out to Hitmonlee. Hitmonlee sat straight up, looked  
  
straight at Brick  
  
and said, "I hope you don't expect me to do that all the time."  
  
Brick chuckled at how Hitmonlee mistook him for Ross. Ross smiled and  
  
waving his  
  
hand in front of Hitmonlee's face, Ross said, "Over here bud."  
  
Hitmonlee turned to Ross and grabbed his shoulder to be sure. Ross helped  
  
his friend to  
  
his feet and held him in place. When Hitmonlee regained his balance, Brick  
  
handed Ross a gray  
  
badge resembling a rock.  
  
"Your pokemon skills are impressive," complimented Brick, "With a little  
  
practice,  
  
Hitmonlee here will be able to start a battle with that move instead of  
  
finishing with it."  
  
"Great," said a sarcastic Hitmonlee.  
  
"Speaking of which," said Brick, "What are you going to call that attack?"  
  
Ross thought for a little while before a name popped into his head. "I  
  
think I'll call it a  
  
cyclone kick," stated Ross.  
  
"I'll see you around sometime," commented Brick.  
  
"Okay, bye," stated Ross as he helped Hitmonlee to the door.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Brick opened a cell phone and dialed. After a couple rings, the phone was  
  
answered.  
  
"Pika?" asked the tiny voice.  
  
"Hey Pikachu," replied Brick, "Is Brock around?"  
  
"Pika," said the Pikachu before elevator music started to come out the  
  
speaker.  
  
After a few moments, Brock's voice was Brick's ear.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey bro," started Brick, "A kid just came in with a Hitmonlee which did a  
  
new move."  
  
"Really?" asked Brock, "What did he call it?  
  
"A cyclone kick," explained Brick. Chapter 84-Up Evolution Mountain  
  
At the pokemon center, Ross healed Machoke, Wartortle, and Hitmonlee  
  
starting up the  
  
nearby evolution mountain. Ross figured that he might be able to find some  
  
evolution stones to  
  
keep or trade.  
  
Ross used his pokedex to scan through the soil in an unclaimed area for the  
  
stones. He  
  
was paying so much attention to what was below him that he didn't notice what  
  
was above him.  
  
THUD!  
  
Ross fell backwards and looked at what hit him. "A leaf stone?" wondered  
  
Ross, "Why  
  
would a leaf stone be flying through the air to hit me in the head?"  
  
Ross was helped to his feet by Machoke, only to be knocked back down by a  
  
mind stone.  
  
"This is a weird mountain." commented Ross. Ross stood up again and was nearly  
  
hit by half a  
  
dozen thunder stones.  
  
"HEY!" shouted Ross at an overhead cliff.  
  
A girl's head popped out and asked, "What?"  
  
"Will ya' stop stoning me already?" asked Ross.  
  
The girl blushed and said, "Sorry, I'm looking for a water stone."  
  
"Don't they sell them in town?" asked Ross.  
  
"Yes," commented the girl, "but I'm broke and need to evolve my Poliwhirl."  
  
"What's your name?" asked Ross.  
  
"Jewel," answered the girl, "What's yours?"  
  
"Ross Jacobsen," answered Ross, "Why do you need to evolve your Poliwhirl?"  
  
"My family won't let me work at our local gym until I do," answered Jewel.  
  
Ross  
  
opened his backpack and pulled out the water stone he won in at the carnival a  
  
while back.  
  
"If you want, I have a water stone that I don't need," commented Ross,  
  
"you're welcome  
  
to it."  
  
"What's the catch?" asked Jewel.  
  
"No catch," answered Ross, "Just catch." Ross threw the stone up to Jewel  
  
who easily  
  
caught it.  
  
"Thanks," said Jewel, "I'll see you around." Jewel disappeared before  
  
hurrying down the  
  
cliff to Stone Town.  
  
"I thought that you were saving that for Staryu when he was ready to  
  
evolve," said  
  
Hitmonchan as Jewel disappeared from sight.  
  
"I was," said Ross, looking at the stones on the ground, "but I think that  
  
I can trade some  
  
of these stones for at least ONE water stone. Let's see if we can't find some  
  
more stones where  
  
she was digging."  
  
Ross climbed the cliff and started to dig with his shovel. It wasn't to  
  
long before Ross  
  
started hitting pay-dirt.  
  
The cliff face was full of evolution stones there was so many stones that  
  
Ross had to put  
  
all of his pokemon away to prevent them from evolving. There was some of all the  
  
known types  
  
of evolution stones except water. Exeggcute seemed to be in a hurry to evolve  
  
though because it  
  
kept getting out of his pokeball and looking for the pile of leaf stones.  
  
At about lunchtime, Ross thought that he had enough to carry. Ross started  
  
to load them  
  
into his net. He was so busy with his net that he didn't notice that Exeggcute  
  
had snuck out of  
  
his pokeball and started after a lone leaf stone, still stuck in the dirt wall,  
  
that Ross missed.  
  
"Almost got it," muttered one of the eggs a little too loudly. Ross turned  
  
around and saw  
  
Exeggcute barraging at the dirt around the stone.  
  
"Hold it," called Ross. Just then, the stone fell out and started to roll  
  
towards Exeggcute.  
  
Exeggcute hopped happily while Ross hurried to stop the stone. Exeggcute  
  
rushed to  
  
beat Ross to the stone and succeeded. The eggs and stone started to glow green  
  
until Ross  
  
picked up the stone.  
  
Exeggcute stopped glowing while Ross's hands, gloves, and the leaf stone  
  
glowed. Ross  
  
closed his eyes, thinking that the glow was from Exeggcute, using hypnosis.  
  
When Ross looked  
  
again, his hands and Exeggcute were still the same, but now, his gloves had a  
  
green leaf behind  
  
his initials, and the leaf stone was gone. Chapter 85-ZOOm in on Stone Evolution  
  
Back at Stone Town, Ross had deposited half of his stones and ate lunch  
  
before going to  
  
the evolution zoo. Ross paid the admissions fee at the gate before going in.  
  
The zoo was semi-  
  
crowded with a gift shop by the entrance/exit.  
  
Ross first looked at Eevees in their evolved forms. Vaporeons were  
  
splashing in a pool  
  
while Jolteons and Flareons glared at each other from different cages.  
  
Ross pulled out his pokedex and started to scan the pokemon. "Vaporeon, a  
  
bubble jet  
  
pokemon, Jolteon, a lightning pokemon, and Flareon, a flame pokemon," stated the  
  
pokedex,  
  
"These pokemon evolve from Eevee when exposed to the water, thunder, or fire  
  
stone."  
  
An unusual looking group of blue-green Eevee was in a cage labeled  
  
Lunareon. Another  
  
cage looked like a mixed breed between a Vaporeon, a Jolteon, and a Flareon.  
  
Ross examined  
  
the last two with his pokedex.  
  
"Lunareon, the alien pokemon," explained the voice, "Once believed to be a  
  
myth,  
  
Lunareon was a mystery. It is now known that Eevee evolves into Lunareon when  
  
exposed to a  
  
moon stone."  
  
Ross turned to face the crossed breed pokemon. "Ultreon, the multi-type  
  
pokemon,"  
  
explained the voice, "Ultreon's existence was unknown until a recent accident  
  
revealed that if  
  
Eevee is exposed to the thunder, fire, and water stone at the same time, Eevee  
  
will evolve into  
  
Ultreon. While most pokemon display only one or two types, Ultreon displays  
  
three, fire,  
  
electric, and water."  
  
Before Ross left the Eevee area, he saw a solid green pokemon. "Leafeon, a  
  
plant  
  
pokemon," commented the pokedex, "Only one out of four Eevees are capable of  
  
evolving into  
  
Leafeon when exposed to the leaf stone."  
  
Ross looked at the pokeballs he got from the cheating carnival booth. He  
  
had gotten  
  
seriously disappointed when he found out that all 6 were unevolved Eevees. Ross  
  
would have to  
  
check to see if one of his Eevees could become a Leafeon later.  
  
Ross walked past the Leafeons to the leaf stone evolved pokemon portion of  
  
the zoo.  
  
There were three more dens. One held walking coconut trees, another held  
  
flowers with red  
  
blossoms, and the last held yellow carnivorous flowers.  
  
"Exeggcute, the walking tree pokemon," proclaimed the red computer, "With  
  
multiple  
  
faces, this pokemon evolves from Exeggcute. Some believe that this evolution is  
  
not as wise as  
  
it would seem."  
  
Turning to the red flowers, the voice said, "Vileplume, a flower pokemon.  
  
The third  
  
stage in Oddish evolution. Attracts pollinating insects with its sweet smell."  
  
Ross pointed the lens at the yellow plants as they ate some insects.  
  
"Victreebell, a fly-  
  
catcher pokemon. The third stage in Bellsprout evolution. In the wild, it  
  
tries to eat anything it  
  
can catch."  
  
"Yikes," muttered Ross as he walked to the mind stone exhibits. Chapter 86-Don't Mind Me  
  
Five pokemon were in different pens. One sort of reminded Ross of a clown,  
  
another  
  
looked like a Kadabra except with a big head. The third one was pink with a  
  
shell hat. The  
  
fourth was completely yellow with pendulums, some of which were floating  
  
straight up! The  
  
last one was some sort of duck.  
  
Ross first looked at the clowns. "Mimic, a mime pokemon," explained Ross's  
  
pokedex,  
  
"The recently discovered evolution of a Mr. Mime. Makes motions to mime out a  
  
powerful  
  
protective barrier."  
  
Ross next looked at the pokemon with large shell hats. "Slowking, a dopey  
  
pokemon,  
  
the third form of Slowpoke evolution. When exposed to a mind stone, Slowbro  
  
kills its tail  
  
parasite and turns it into a hat."  
  
The third pokemon Ross examined were the pokemon with pendulums. "Sleepy,  
  
a  
  
hypnosis pokemon, third stage in Drowzee evolution. When Hypno evolves, its  
  
mental power  
  
increases with the elevation of its pendulum.  
  
Looking at the pink/blue ducks the pokedex stated, "Morduck, a  
  
water/psychic pokemon,  
  
third stage of Psyduck evolution. No one is certain how this pokemon was  
  
originally mistaken  
  
for a Modok."  
  
"Someone thought THAT was a Modok?" Ross asked no one.  
  
Finally, Ross looked at the pumped up Kadabra. "Alfamazoo, a mental  
  
pokemon,  
  
believed to be the fourth stage of Abra evolution. Alfamazoo's brain is  
  
believed by some to be  
  
the equal of Mewtwo. So far, no one of stature has proven that Alfamazoo is the  
  
evolved form  
  
of Alakazam."  
  
'Hello,' Ross said in his mind. The Alfamazoos looked around. 'Over here,  
  
on the path,'  
  
thought Ross.  
  
'Finally! A smart human!' thought the Alfamazoos.  
  
'I was wondering if I could ask you all a few questions,' thought Ross.  
  
'Ask away,' said a thought behind Ross, 'If you don't mind answering some  
  
of our  
  
questions.'  
  
'Why can't you Sleepys just talk among yourselves instead of spying on  
  
everyone else?'  
  
asked an Alfamazoo.  
  
'What would be the fun in being a psychic pokemon if you don't use your  
  
powers?'  
  
asked one of the Sleepys.  
  
'Hard to argue with that," stated a Mimic.  
  
'To the questions,' thought a Morduck.  
  
'I was wondering if the Alfamazoos really were the fourth stage in Abra  
  
evolution,'  
  
stated Ross in his mind.  
  
'Only if we can get strong enough,' answered an Alfamazoo.  
  
'Why are we being held here?' thought a Morduck.  
  
'So that in case your natural environments disappeared, you will still  
  
exist,' explained  
  
Ross.  
  
'Why would they disappear?' asked a Mimic.  
  
'Well,' considered Ross, 'Some people aren't as caring or smart as they  
  
should be.  
  
Sometimes, pokemon are driven to extinction by other pokemon. Predators and so  
  
forth.'  
  
'About how many different types of pokemon are there?' wondered an  
  
Alfamazoo.  
  
'When the total number of species was last counted,'started Ross, 'There  
  
was about 200  
  
different species and 15 types, but that was a few months ago.'  
  
'What are the different types?' asked a Morduck.  
  
'Shouldn't we let the Slowkings ask a question?' wondered Ross.  
  
'If we tried,' stated a Alfamazoo, 'Then you would be here all day.'  
  
'Okay, well,' Ross pondered over the 15 types, 'There's normal, ghost,  
  
electric, ground,  
  
bug, flying, poison, grass, fire, ice, water, psychic, fighting, rock, and  
  
dragon.'  
  
'What's your name?' asked a small Alfamazoo.  
  
Ross smiled and thought, 'Ross Jacobsen, pokemon trainer.'  
  
'What's a trainer?' asked a Morduck.  
  
'Well,' started Ross, 'I work with pokemon to make both of us stronger and  
  
learn from  
  
each other. We battle other trainers and wild pokemon to build our team and  
  
obtain money to  
  
survive.'  
  
'Oh,' thought a Mimic. A zookeeper drove into the area with a golf cart  
  
full of food.  
  
"How's it going?" asked the zookeeper.  
  
"Alright," said Ross honestly, "Just talking with the pokemon."  
  
"Yeah right," replied the zookeeper, "These pokemon can't understand you."  
  
'Really?' thought a Sleepy, preparing to fire a psybeam at the zookeeper's  
  
back.  
  
'I don't think that's a good idea,' warned Ross, 'You might not get fed.'  
  
Realizing that Ross was right, the Sleepy disappointedly relaxed.  
  
'I better go if I'm going see the other pokemon,' thought Ross to the  
  
psychic pokemon,  
  
'Nice talking with you.'  
  
'Same here,' thought a Mimic. Chapter 87-"I Motion For Evolution."  
  
The next exhibit Ross came to was a couple of mist stone exhibit. One held  
  
some  
  
pokemon that Ross originally thought was some Mews on some serious steroids.  
  
"Chronamew,"  
  
stated the pokedex, "a psychic pokemon that evolves from Mew when exposed to a  
  
mist stone."  
  
The second one held what looked like overweight, short, blue Pikachus with  
  
a ball on the  
  
tip of their tails. "Pikablu," stated the pokedex, "A water/electric pokemon,  
  
when some Pikachu  
  
are exposed to a mist stone, it evolves into this ultra-rare pokemon. Catching  
  
one in the wild is  
  
nearly impossible and a feat that no one has been successful in."  
  
Ross was interested for a little while until he proceeded to the water  
  
stone evolutions. A  
  
large pool held three different pokemon species. Some were Cloysters like the  
  
Ice Lord had,  
  
others were 10-point starfish, and there was also some blue amphibians with a  
  
spiral center.  
  
Pointed at starfish, the computer said, "Starmie, a psychic/water pokemon.  
  
A 10-point  
  
starfish that evolves from Staryu with the water stone. Exchanging speed for  
  
size, Starmie uses  
  
psychic powers to fight"  
  
"Poliwrath, a fighting/water pokemon, evolves from Poliwhirl when exposed  
  
to a water  
  
stone," the pokedex identifying the amphibians, "With its powerful muscles,  
  
Poliwrath fights of  
  
predators on land and in water."  
  
Ross watched the pokemon play in the water before he heard a shrill voice  
  
call out,  
  
"CHU!!!!"  
  
Looking at a cage in the next section, Ross saw a large orange rat with a  
  
yellow lightning  
  
bolt on the tip of its tail. "Raichu," introduced the pokedex, "An electric rat  
  
pokemon. Evolved  
  
from a Pikachu, Raichu can shock a Dragonite into unconsciousness."  
  
Ross breezed through the moon stone evolutions fairly quickly. He found  
  
those pokemon  
  
fairly boring and proceeded to the fire pokemon. Some large dogs and foxes were  
  
in separate  
  
cages, very similar to the pokemon that Trella Flame had.  
  
After Ross watched the pokemon for a while, Ross walked into the gift shop  
  
with an  
  
adjoining evolution stone trading booth. Chapter 88-Let's Make A Deal  
  
"May I help you?" asked the man running the trading booth.  
  
"I'm in the market for some water stones," explained Ross, leaning against  
  
the glass  
  
case, "And I have several other stones for trade."  
  
"We're a little short on thunder and fire stones," commented the trader,  
  
"How many  
  
water stones do you want?"  
  
"I want about half a dozen water stones," explained Ross. Trying to gain  
  
the upper hand,  
  
Ross said, "I have a few thunder stones, a couple leaf, and some of all the  
  
other stones."  
  
"How about one of both for a single water stone," suggested the trader.  
  
"That's a rip-off!" exclaimed Ross, "I can get a better deal from some poor  
  
shmuck on  
  
the street. How about a fire and thunder for two water stones?"  
  
"Not likely," commented the trader, "How about 2 fire, 2 thunder, 1 mind,  
  
and 1 mist of  
  
your collection for 6 of our water stones?"  
  
'Not a bad deal,' thought Ross, 'I trade a few of my stones and still have  
  
all the stones  
  
that I already deposited.'  
  
"Okay," said Ross, setting his backpack on the floor. Ross opened it up  
  
and removed his  
  
half-full net of evolution stones. He carefully grabbed a fire stone with both  
  
hands.  
  
Suddenly, the leaf on his gloves illuminated and the fire stone disappeared  
  
in his hands.  
  
Ross thought that he was just clumsy and dropped it. Ross pulled out another  
  
fire stone and set  
  
it on the counter.  
  
Ross reached in for a thunder stone which promptly disappeared in his  
  
hands. Slightly  
  
confused, Ross reached for a mind stone, but it also vanished.  
  
'What is going on here?' wondered Ross as he reached for a mist stone,  
  
which also  
  
disappeared.  
  
"Is there a problem?" asked the clerk.  
  
"No," lied Ross, "No problem."  
  
Ross looked straight at one of his mind stones and put it on the counter  
  
without any  
  
problem. Ross then managed to do the same with a fire, thunder, and mist stone.  
  
Once the clerk had verified that all of the stones he requested were on the  
  
counter, he slid  
  
them off into a box and set 6 water stones in their place. Ross picked up some  
  
of the stones in  
  
each hand at once and set the two stones in his left hand and one in his right  
  
hand. Ross stood  
  
back up and picked up the last two stones on the counter, one in each hand.  
  
Ross bent down and  
  
set the stones with the others.  
  
Ross put the net away before closing and shouldering his backpack.  
  
"Pleasure doing business with you," stated the clerk, extending his right  
  
hand.  
  
"Same here," replied Ross, shaking the friendly man's hand.  
  
"Nice gloves," complimented the man.  
  
"Thanks," said Ross. Looking at them, Ross's jaw nearly dropped. Now,  
  
instead of a  
  
single leaf on the background or just his initials, there was a 6-point star.  
  
Ross's initials were in  
  
the center hexagon with a leaf, flame, water drop, lightning bolt, brain, and  
  
snowflake in the six  
  
surrounding points.  
  
"Where'd you get them?" asked the clerk.  
  
"Oh, I altered a pair from a garage sale," lied Ross.  
  
"Nice job, they look like they're brand new," stated the trader.  
  
"Yeah, right," said Ross, "I better go."  
  
Ross walked out of the trading room and into the gift shop, all the while  
  
looking puzzled  
  
at his gloves. Chapter 89-The Glowing Gloves  
  
In the gift shop, Ross looked through the books, still puzzled over how his  
  
gloves  
  
changed themselves twice within 3 hours. Ross found an interesting book on  
  
stone-enduced  
  
evolutions and the resulting pokemon and started to flip through the book.  
  
'ROSS!' yelled a voice in his head. Ross jerked his head up at the sound  
  
of one of the  
  
Alfamazoo's thoughts. 'Some people are taking us away! HELP!!!'  
  
Dropping the book on a nearby shelf, Ross ran out of the gift shop for the  
  
mind stone  
  
evolutions.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Hurry up! The cameras will be up again!" ordered a male's voice.  
  
"I'm moving as fast as I can," complained a second male struggling with a  
  
large  
  
Slowking.  
  
"Maybe you should just give up now," suggested a new voice. The two  
  
thieves looked  
  
and saw Ross standing on the path to the exit.  
  
"Do you know who you're dealing with!?!" asked the first man.  
  
"Sure I do!" exclaimed Ross, "The Beavis and Butthead of pokemon training,  
  
Mike  
  
Crosby and Nick Grahm! And please spare me that awful poem."  
  
"Awful!?!" exclaimed Mike.  
  
"Articuno," called Nick from the Slowking pen, "Freeze our friend's  
  
pokeballs."  
  
Articuno stepped out from behind Ross and used ice beam to freeze his belt  
  
in a ring of  
  
ice.  
  
"How are you going to fight us now?" asked Mike.  
  
"With my fists and feet to my last ounce of strength," quoted Ross as he  
  
took a fighting  
  
stance.  
  
"Alakazam, Fearow, Muk, Charmander, Bulbasaur, GO!" called Mike.  
  
"Haunter, Marowak, Lickitung, Squirtle, Dratini, join the other pokemon!"  
  
ordered Nick.  
  
Ross found himself against eleven pokemon and one trainer. Ross started  
  
out with a  
  
psychic attack, but didn't make a dent in most of the pokemon. Ross put up a  
  
barrier next to  
  
avoid serious injury, but was hit all at once by a several of the pokemon's  
  
special attacks.  
  
Next, Ross tried to rush the pokemon with a series of punches and kicks,  
  
but was kept  
  
back by a whirlwind from Fearow. Ross was knocked into a guardrail and weak  
  
from the  
  
attacks.  
  
"Why don't you give up know and save yourself the pain," suggested Nick.  
  
"Because you shouldn't treat pokemon that way," complained Ross, stumbling  
  
to stand  
  
up with the guardrail.  
  
"But we are," said Mike, "and soon, I'll have my Hitmons back."  
  
Marowak ran up at Ross, bone raised for a bone club attack. Ross dodged  
  
the bone and  
  
let Marowak attack a guardrail. The rail shook violently and Marowak shook with  
  
it.  
  
"MA~A~RO~OW~WA~A~A~AK!" called the pokemon. Ross grabbed the crude  
  
weapon and Marowak by the back of the neck.  
  
Ross's glove started to feel funny on his hand. The top of the star,  
  
decorated by the leaf,  
  
and the third point counter-clockwise, the brain, glowed as Marowak grew weak  
  
and Ross  
  
gained strength.  
  
Eventually, Marowak fainted while Ross was back at full strength. Marowak  
  
turned into  
  
a mass of red energy and was sucked into one of Nick's pokeballs, with its bone  
  
club still in  
  
Ross's right hand.  
  
'How did I learn to do Absorb?' wondered Ross.  
  
A long tongue wrapped around the bone in Ross's right hand.  
  
'Guess I'll have to figure it out later,' thought Ross, struggling with the  
  
fleshy tongue.  
  
He pulled out his pocket knife and plunged it into the slobber-ridden tongue.  
  
"TTTOOUUNNNGGE!" exclaimed the stabbed pokemon as it let go of Ross's  
  
weapon.  
  
"You want this back?" asked Ross, side-winding up to throw the bone,  
  
"CATCH!"  
  
Ross threw the bone with a wicked spin to it. Muk tried to catch it, but  
  
lost some of its  
  
sludge, scattered to the four winds. The sludge caught Mike and Alakazam in the  
  
eye.  
  
The bone started to curve around and fly for the pokemon again. Haunter  
  
floated in front  
  
of it, ready to stop it. The bone flew through Haunter, right between the eyes.  
  
Haunter cried out  
  
in pain as the bone flew into Ross's hand.  
  
'How did I learn bonemerang?' thought Ross.  
  
Articuno flew up and after Ross. Dodging, Ross tried to hit Articuno with  
  
a fire punch.  
  
Articuno also dodged and Ross started to get really mad. Ross held out his  
  
right hand as the  
  
second clockwise icon, the flame, glowed. Flames started to fly out of his  
  
right hand and pelt  
  
the Articuno.  
  
'Now a flamethrower?' thought Ross, 'What's next? A thunderbolt?'  
  
Ross wasn't far off. Once the flames stopped and Articuno flew off, the  
  
lower-most  
  
icon, a bolt of lightning, turned a bright yellow. Sparks popped over the  
  
insignia.  
  
Ross held both fists at Fearow. Electricity flew out and shocked the bird.  
  
Fearow  
  
dropped and fainted. Ross stopped to rest while Lickitung, Muk, Alakazam,  
  
Haunter, and  
  
Fearow were called back and Mike rubbed the sludge out of his eyes.  
  
Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, and Dratini nervously took a fighting  
  
stance.  
  
'Better take out the Dratini first,' figured Ross, 'Ice would be nice.'  
  
No sooner had he thought it then the second counter-clockwise insignia, a  
  
snowflake,  
  
turned a bright white. Holding an open hand at Dratini, a blue beam emerged  
  
from Ross's hand  
  
and hit Dratini right on the head, encasing it in a block of ice.  
  
Dratini was called back and Ross turned to Charmander. Thinking about a  
  
water gun  
  
attack, the third clockwise icon, the water drop, shimmered blue. Water flowed  
  
out of the  
  
Slowking pen, washing out Nick, trying to get the last pokemon, and soaking  
  
Charmander  
  
Ross focused his attention on Bulbasaur, releasing a steady stream of  
  
mental energy with  
  
occasional surges of power.  
  
"What was that!?!" asked a bewildered Nick when he saw the strange mental  
  
attack.  
  
Mike called back Bulbasaur.  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know?" stated Ross.  
  
Squirtle looked around nervously for support, but only saw all of the  
  
evolved pokemon  
  
that got away from Nick. Team Rocket was definitely freaked by the fact that  
  
they were  
  
surrounded.  
  
"Psychic pokemon!" exclaimed Ross, "Trap Team Rocket in a barrier!"  
  
The psychic pokemon focused and a large, clear-white bubble surrounded Team  
  
Rocket.  
  
"I don't believe this!" yelled Mike, "How could we lose when he didn't even  
  
use any  
  
pokemon!?!"  
  
"Maybe we should have just ignored that weird letter?" suggested Nick.  
  
Ross used a fire  
  
punch to remove the ice surrounding his belt as the security guards ran up. Chapter 90-Eevee-ning Puzzlers  
  
In the security office, Ross was trying to explain what happened with a  
  
fake story where  
  
his belt was never encased in ice. The guards were slightly confused by the  
  
story contradicting  
  
their video of the end of the battle. Yet they were glad that none of the  
  
pokemon were missing.  
  
By the time Ross finished answering the police's questions and bought the  
  
book that he  
  
was looking at earlier, the sun was setting. Leaving town was out of the  
  
question today, so Ross  
  
walked back to the pokemon center.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"I still don't understand what happen," complained a guard to one of his  
  
friends.  
  
"So?" replied the friend.  
  
"So," started the guard, "Maybe we should check with the pokemon league  
  
about this  
  
one. How did that 'Dataeater' kid know that there was trouble? And no matter  
  
what really  
  
happened, pokemon were involved, and we still have the copy."  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
In the training section of the pokemon center, was talking with his Eevees.  
  
Some of  
  
them detested evolving into some evolved forms while others wanted to be able to  
  
keep  
  
swimming. Ross got so confused, that he assigned each Eevee a number and  
  
started a chart. 1 2 3 4 5 6  
  
Flareon  
  
Vaporeon  
  
Jolteon  
  
Leafeon  
  
Ultreon  
  
Lunareon Since only 2 could had the ability to become Leafeon, Ross marked the  
  
others out of  
  
becoming Leafeon. 1 and 5 wanted to be able to swim without any trouble. That  
  
meant that  
  
they both had to become one evolutions that was at least part-water. 1 2 3 4 5 6  
  
Flareon x x x  
  
Vaporeon x x x x  
  
Jolteon x x x  
  
Leafeon x o x x x x  
  
Ultreon x x x x  
  
Lunareon x x x After Ross showed pictures of the different pokemon, 3 wanted despised the  
  
thought of  
  
looking like Jolteon while #4 was begging to become it. #1 liked Vaporeon while  
  
3 and 6  
  
preferred Lunareon. 1 2 3 4 5 6  
  
Flareon x x x x  
  
Vaporeon o x x x x x  
  
Jolteon x x x o x x  
  
Leafeon x o x x x x  
  
Ultreon x x x x o x  
  
Lunareon x x x x Ross knew that he'd have to make a good choice, or the upset Eevee might  
  
pick a fight  
  
with him. Or worse. All of the remaining Eevees liked the looks of their  
  
choices, but #3 didn't  
  
like the thought of not being able to enjoy water sports at all. Ross altered  
  
his chart accordingly  
  
and was relieved to see that it was complete. 1 2 3 4 5 6  
  
Flareon x x x x x o  
  
Vaporeon o x x x x x  
  
Jolteon x x x o x x  
  
Leafeon x o x x x x  
  
Ultreon x x x x o x  
  
Lunareon x x o x x x One at a time, Ross evolved each Eevee. The most challenging of the  
  
evolutions was #5  
  
into Ultreon. Getting Ultreon to be exposed to the three stones took a little  
  
thinking before Ross  
  
finally decided to set Eevee onto the three stone gathered in a flat formation.  
  
Only the Eevee  
  
just jumped out of Ross's hands onto the stones. The goofball Eevee still  
  
evolved into Ultreon,  
  
but was starting out to be the group's clown. Chapter 91-A Basic Day?  
  
The next morning, Ross waited until he was halfway to Vermilion City before  
  
taking a  
  
break in a shady glen. While the pokemon ran off and did their own thing in the  
  
moderate size  
  
field, Ross used his pokedex to scan his gloves  
  
"Six unidentified pokemon of different types," claimed the pokedex, "1 of  
  
the following  
  
detected: Fire, Water, Plant, Ice, Psychic, and Electric. Please contact  
  
Professor Oak via cell  
  
phone option to record new pokemon or attacks."  
  
"Attacks?" commented Ross, "I should tell him about Hitmonlee's cyclone  
  
kick then."  
  
Ross pushed a button on the screen flashing and an antenna slowly emerged.  
  
He pushed  
  
an on-screen button and waited for Professor Oak's face to appear.  
  
"Hello," stated the professor's face as it appeared on the screen, "This is  
  
Professor Oak.  
  
Whom may I ask is calling?"  
  
"Hey professor. This is Ross," introduced Ross, "My Hitmonlee did a new  
  
move and my  
  
pokedex said to report it."  
  
"Really? How exciting!" proclaimed the Oak on the screen, "Could you have  
  
him  
  
demonstrate it for me?"  
  
"Hold on a sec," said Ross. After talking to his pokemon, there was room  
  
cleared and  
  
Hitmonlee stood ready to do it. "Okay Hitmonlee, cyclone kick!"  
  
The camera watched Hitmonlee closely as he spun around in mid-air. When  
  
Hitmonlee  
  
landed, Hitmonlee was once again dizzy, but spent less time trying to maintain  
  
balance.  
  
"How interesting," commented the professor, "You wouldn't by any chance  
  
have  
  
recently left Stone Town, would you?"  
  
"Yes," answered Ross truthfully, "Hitmonlee first used the attack in the  
  
gym battle to  
  
scare Onix out of fighting. How did you know?"  
  
"I thought so," stated Oak, "The local gym leader already reported that  
  
move, but thanks  
  
for the extra documentation on the cyclone kick."  
  
"You're welcome," answered Ross before adding under his breath, "I guess."  
  
"I suppose that you haven't heard about the pokedex update,' commented Oak.  
  
"Actually..." started Ross when the professor on the screen started  
  
coughing  
  
uncontrollably. "You okay prof?"  
  
"Yes," claimed the Oak on the screen, "I'm fine. If you want, I'll have  
  
the update  
  
waiting for you in Vermillion."  
  
"Fine, I'll talk to you later," stated Ross. "And take care of yourself,"  
  
added Ross before  
  
the screen went black.  
  
"You know what Ross?" Looking up Ross saw Hitmonlee holding Hitmonchan's  
  
shoulder and saying, "I think that I AM getting better at recovering from this  
  
dizziness."  
  
Everyone laughed as Hitmonchan said, "I don't think so bud, Ross is over  
  
there."  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Have you sent the letters?" asked the man in the prisoner's uniform.  
  
"Yes Mister Oak," answered Aroduc, "It'll probably still be a while before  
  
the trainers  
  
get the letters though. Are you sure that you wanted us to give away  
  
FIRST-class ticket? We  
  
could have cut the expenses of this trap by HALF if we used third-class  
  
tickets."  
  
"You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar," quoted 'Mr. Oak,' "I  
  
should be out  
  
of here in a few more weeks. I'll want a tally of the pokemon 'borrowed' by the  
  
end of the  
  
week."  
  
"No problem boss," promised Aroduc.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Ross and company stopped for the night next to a log that fell across the  
  
stream. Again,  
  
it only took a brief while to set up and start dinner.  
  
Ross did some more scanning and found out that with the gloves on, Ross  
  
could use  
  
several more attacks. He also found out that the attacks he could do without  
  
the gloves were  
  
more powerful.  
  
The meat started to sizzle for a while before Ross flipped the hamburgers.  
  
The pokemon  
  
were relaxing and talking. Talking about the day's battles, talking about  
  
evolving, and talking  
  
about how annoying Team Rocket was. Ross joined in the conversation until the  
  
meal was done  
  
cooking.  
  
All of the pokemon took a portion of the meal and the conversation slowed  
  
as everyone  
  
started eating. It was a pretty basic evening until about halfway through the  
  
dinner.  
  
A small Pikachu's head popped out of a bush across the stream, sniffing the  
  
air. Hungry,  
  
the tiny pokemon walked down the slope along the thin river.  
  
"Come and join us," called Ross's Pikachu.  
  
"There's plenty of food," commented Ross.  
  
The wild, baby Pikachu was clearly scared of the crowd and considered his  
  
options. In  
  
the end, hunger won over fear and the small Pikachu ran across the log, taking a  
  
seat on a pile of  
  
bushes. Graveler dished some food onto a leaf plate and handed it to the  
  
helpless Pikachu.  
  
"Thanks!" muttered the small yellow pokemon before starting to cram food  
  
into its  
  
mouth at lightning speed.  
  
"Sure is hungry for such a small pokemon," commented Gyarados as he chewed  
  
out a  
  
dying tree.  
  
"What happened to you?" asked Ross.  
  
The wild Pikachu popped the last of his first serving into his mouth and  
  
swallowed  
  
before talking. "I was originally born into a herd of Pikachu," explained the  
  
small pokemon,  
  
loading up more food. "Unfortunately, I was born as what the herd considered to  
  
be a runt.  
  
When the herd migrated around, I had trouble keeping up."  
  
"Poor Pikachu," commented Onix.  
  
"Yeah," added the wild pokemon, sitting back down, "One morning, I woke up  
  
and the  
  
herd was gone. They moved on in the night, leaving me behind."  
  
"How awful," commented Ross's Pikachu.  
  
"I agree," Ross stated. Turning to the small pokemon, Ross invited, "Why  
  
don't you stay  
  
with us? It'll be safer to stay in a group."  
  
Considering its options, the small Pikachu agreed. Once everyone had eaten  
  
their fill, the  
  
party settled down for the night. Ross in his sleeping bag and cracked open  
  
tent. The some of  
  
the grass and water pokemon in the stream while the others slept either near the  
  
fire or in the  
  
tent. The wild Pikachu lay awake near the fire, trying to figure out his next  
  
move.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
In his tent, Raticate debated with Ross. "I still think that you should  
  
have battled that  
  
wild Pikachu," stated Raticate.  
  
"Why?" asked Ross, "That Pikachu is weak and scared."  
  
"Then you should have caught it!" protested Raticate.  
  
"It wouldn't be happy," pointed out Ross, "With any luck, the herd will  
  
come back for  
  
him."  
  
"I don't know..."started Raticate. Ross just shook his head and drifted  
  
off to sleep. Chapter 92-On the road to Vermilion City  
  
The next morning, Ross was groggy and couldn't see very well. He grabbed a  
  
glass and  
  
looked for his water holder. Ross eventually found his yellow teapot and  
  
reached for it.  
  
"PikaCHUUU!!!!" yelled a high-pitched voice as it sent electricity through  
  
Ross's body.  
  
When the small, wild Pikachu was finished, Ross wasn't groggy anymore.  
  
"Good, morning," announced the shocked trainer.  
  
"Sorry," apologized the small mouse.  
  
"It's alright," forgave Ross, "I needed an eye-opener anyway." Reaching  
  
for the  
  
CORRECT yellow teapot, Ross washed off his face. "Let's start some breakfast,"  
  
suggested  
  
Ross, stepping out of his tent.  
  
"YAY!" cheered the awake Pikachu, following Ross out. By the time the  
  
other pokemon  
  
woke up, Ross and Pikachu had a hot breakfast ready for them.  
  
"What are you planning on doing next?" asked Onix as everyone ate.  
  
"I don't know," commented Pikachu, "I won't be able to stay wild on my  
  
own."  
  
"If you want," started Ross, "We could walk you to the pokemon center. You  
  
might find  
  
a trainer there or just help out. From there, we could also send you to the  
  
electric pokemon gym  
  
in Gringe City. No one would know more about Pikachu than the leader there,  
  
except for maybe  
  
the one at Indigo Plateau."  
  
"Those all sound like good ideas," commented Ross's Pikachu. The wild  
  
Pikachu had to  
  
agree.  
  
"Then it's settled," decided Ross, "Pikachu #2 will travel with us to  
  
Vermilion City. It  
  
shouldn't take us too long to get there if we keep a fast pace. With any luck,  
  
by lunch, and we  
  
can stuff ourselves." All of the pokemon cheered.  
  
After everyone finished breakfast, they took down camp and started down the  
  
path.  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
'Pikablu is believed by some to be among the strongest pokemon in the  
  
world. Rare to  
  
find in the wild, Pikablu soaks its target before launching an electric attack  
  
to paralyze any  
  
enemy. Even if this enemy is of the ground type. While most believe that weak  
  
Pikachus can  
  
only evolve into Pikablu, some think that a recessive gene enables Pikachu to  
  
become this  
  
pokemon.'  
  
'What's a recessive gene?' wondered Ross. Ross was walking down the path  
  
with some  
  
of his pokemon, reading from his new book.  
  
Flipping to the back of the book, Ross found an entry in the glossary on  
  
"recessive gene."  
  
"Recessive gene," started Ross, reading outloud, "The second type of gene,  
  
the  
  
characteristic of a recessive gene will only occur if no dominant genes are  
  
present. Normally a  
  
one in four chance."  
  
"That sounds about right," commented Kadabra.  
  
"I don't have any idea of what I just said," said Ross.  
  
"Alright, so," Kadabra explained to Ross, "More than likely, one out of  
  
four Pikachu can  
  
evolve into Pikablu. Just like one out of four Eevees can evolve into Leafeon!"  
  
"OH!" nodded Ross, wearing a look of total confidence.  
  
"You still don't have the faintest idea," asked Kadabra, "Do you?" Ross  
  
shook his head.  
  
"Let's try it from the top."  
  
"Just a sec," replied Ross, noticing how tired the wild Pikachu was. He  
  
slowed until the  
  
tiny pokemon caught up with him. "How's it going?" Ross asked the small  
  
Pikachu.  
  
"I'm getting tired," complained the pokemon. Ross picked up the panting  
  
pokemon and  
  
set it on his shoulder.  
  
"Why don't you just ride up here for a while," suggested Ross. The Pikachu  
  
on his  
  
shoulder didn't argue. Before too much longer, Vermilion City was seen in the  
  
distance.  
  
"What's the matter Hoss?" asked a snide voice behind them, "Pikachu not  
  
feeling well?"  
  
Ross stopped and replied, "What do you want Adam?" Facing his brother Ross  
  
wished  
  
that he wasn't called that.  
  
"A pokemon battle," answered Adam, "I challenge you."  
  
"Fine by me," answered Ross, setting Pikachu and his backpack down. "I'm  
  
trying to get  
  
to Vermilion for lunch, so this will have to be quick. 2 on 2"  
  
"It will be quick," stated Adam, "and painful! Pokeball, GO!"  
  
"Ultreon," called Ross, "GO!"  
  
  
  
Chapter 93-Who Gets the Vermilion Victory?  
  
Ross's mixed breed ran out while Adam's pokemon took shape. A familiar,  
  
short, white  
  
figure with brown paws stood on its hind legs.  
  
"Meowth!" cried its quick voice.  
  
"Fury swipes!" ordered Adam.  
  
"Dodge with agility!" instructed Ross.  
  
Meowth charged at Ultreon and began to fiercely swing its claws. Ultreon  
  
got out of the  
  
way in time and didn't have a scratch.  
  
"Bite!" called Adam.  
  
"Flame thrower!" stated Ross.  
  
Meowth ran up at Ultreon, mouth wide open. Ultreon in turn opened his  
  
mouth and spit  
  
fire into Meowth gaping jaw.  
  
"MEOW!" yelled the cat, grasping its throat. Meowth was clearly in pain  
  
and couldn't  
  
keep fighting.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen," commented Ultreon, "Meowth, the fire eater!"  
  
"Meowth, return," celled back Adam, "Dugtrio, GO! Earthquake!"  
  
The three moles appeared and the ground shook violently. A nearby tree  
  
fell onto the  
  
shaken Ultreon, preventing it from defending itself. Before Dugtrio could  
  
attack, Ross called  
  
Ultreon back and sent out Pidgeotto.  
  
"Slash!" shouted Adam.  
  
"Whirlwind the moles out!" called Ross.  
  
The strong wind proved too much for group and three moles were blown out of  
  
the hole  
  
and into the open.  
  
"Razor wind!" called Ross.  
  
"Fissure!" retaliated Adam.  
  
The ground-based attack didn't touch Pidgeotto as he pumped his wings. A  
  
large wind  
  
gathered sand, dirt, rocks, and leaves and carried them to Dugtrio. The  
  
gathering swirled around  
  
Dugtrio at a high rate of speed, shaving off skin in many places. When the wind  
  
dissipated, two  
  
of Dugtrio's heads were out and the third was exhausted.  
  
"Dugtrio, return!" called Adam, angered by his defeat, "Here's your cash."  
  
Adam threw  
  
some money at Ross's face. "I'll see you later!"  
  
Adam stormed off at a run to the city in the distance. Machoke calmly  
  
stood up and  
  
walked over to Ross as he watched Adam run off.  
  
"Do you think that he'll ever get tired of bugging us?" Machoke asked.  
  
"I doubt it," commented Ross, "Humans have an expression for this. We call  
  
it a 'sibling  
  
rivalry.' It usually occurs when one sibling becomes jealous of the other."  
  
"Will it ever end?" asked the tiny Pikachu now riding on Ross's Pikachu's  
  
shoulders.  
  
"Sometimes it goes away when one sib(ling) doesn't feed the rivalry with  
  
anger,"  
  
explained Ross, "But sometimes one sib's jealousy is enough to keep the rivalry  
  
going."Ross  
  
picked up his pack and said, "We better get going, we have a gym battle to win  
  
before lunch!"  
  
All the pokemon cheered and raced towards the town. Chapter 94-Maybe the Postal Service ISN'T Slow  
  
In the pokemon center, Ross walked to the front desk with the tiny Pikachu  
  
riding on his  
  
shoulder again.  
  
"Actually," commented the nurse, holding four envelopes, "I have FOUR  
  
letters here for  
  
you."  
  
"Four letters!?!" asked Ross, "You sure?"  
  
Nurse Joy rechecked the names on the four envelopes. "They're all  
  
addressed to Ross  
  
Jacobsen." Ross took the letters, thanked Nurse Joy, and sat down on a bench.  
  
Ross opened the  
  
first letter.  
  
Inside, there was only a ticket. "A first class ticket for the S.S.  
  
Marie!" exclaimed Ross,  
  
"Where'd this come from?" The envelope didn't have a return address or name of  
  
sender.  
  
"It was probably your parents," commented the tiny Pikachu.  
  
"Then why did they send me THIS letter?" asked Ross, holding up another  
  
envelope with  
  
his home address on it. Pikachu didn't have an answer to this as Ross tore open  
  
the letter from  
  
home.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Dear Ross;  
  
Mom and Dad here. We heard from Professor Oak that you managed to catch a  
  
Hitmonlee! We couldn't wait for your next phone call, so we decided to write.  
  
We also had the  
  
professor check your pokedex count, 43 pokemon, including both Hitmons,  
  
Articuno, and  
  
Moltres! We are so proud of you. It won't be too long until you replace Ash  
  
Ketchem on Indigo  
  
Plateau!  
  
We found an elderly trainer with a pair of Mr. Mimes for sale, we sent one  
  
to your  
  
brother and the other one is included in this letter. We wish you the best of  
  
luck in the  
  
remaining gyms.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Mom and Dad  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Looking inside the envelope, Ross saw a compressed pokeball. Ross pulled  
  
it out and  
  
attached it to his belt.  
  
"Maybe your friend on Indigo Plateau sent the ticket," suggested Pikachu.  
  
Ross shrugged and opened another letter.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Dear Ross;  
  
This is Ash and Pikachu. We talked to Professor Oak and he says that  
  
you're up to 43  
  
pokemon and 9 of the required badges. We didn't catch 43 pokemon until a year  
  
after we  
  
started our pokemon journey! He also says that you would be in Vermilion City  
  
soon so I hope  
  
to see you there before I leave on the S.S. Marie. We would love the chance to  
  
have a practice  
  
battle with you.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Ash Ketchem and  
  
o%  
  
O  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"It wasn't Ash," stated Ross.  
  
"What about this professor?" asked Pikachu.  
  
"It would have been in THIS letter," commented Ross, holding up a bulky  
  
envelope with  
  
a stamped-on return address.  
  
Opening the package, Ross found a new pokedex.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Dear Ross;  
  
I have decided that it would be easier for you to just send you a new  
  
pokedex with the  
  
update. This pokedex will also grant access to anyone who knows the proper  
  
password that you  
  
choose. Please send me your old pokedex to be updated for someone else.  
  
Professor Oak  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"This ticket is definitely a mystery," commented Ross, "But the S.S. Marie  
  
doesn't leave  
  
for another hour, and we have a badge to win." Chapter 95-Hassling Haunter  
  
The main gym held a scrawny male in glasses at one end with Ross at the  
  
other end.  
  
"My name is Nick Spelmerkle. I run the Vermilion City pokemon gym for small  
  
pokemon. Do  
  
you wish to battle me?"  
  
"You bet!" exclaimed Ross.  
  
"3 on 3," explained Nick, "Pokeball, GO!"  
  
"Articuno, I choose YOU!" called Ross.  
  
Articuno, much stronger than when it first hatched, flew out to battle  
  
Nick's pokemon.  
  
Out of Nick's pokeball emerged a Diglett.  
  
'Another Diglett?' wondered Ross, remembering Seymour's pokemon, 'Guess  
  
I'll just  
  
have to beat this one too.'  
  
"Sand attack!" ordered Nick.  
  
"Ice beam!" called Ross.  
  
Diglett launched sand at Articuno's face but missed when Articuno flew over  
  
him. Next,  
  
Diglett tried to duck into its hole in the soil gym floor. Articuno hovered  
  
right over the hole and  
  
blasted an ice beam into the hole and onto Diglett's head. The hole filled with  
  
ice, trapping  
  
Diglett.  
  
"Diglett, return," called Nick, "Go Grimer, minimize!"  
  
"Blizzard," instructed Ross.  
  
Grimer became smaller and harder to hit. The room started to get very  
  
cold, making  
  
Grimer stiff.  
  
"Sludge attack!" called Nick.  
  
"Wing attack!" stated Ross.  
  
Grimer may have been slower, but blinded Articuno while it approached.  
  
Articuno  
  
wasn't pained, but couldn't see.  
  
"Articuno, return," said Ross, "Mr. Mime, GO! Confusion!"  
  
Nick opened his mouth to speak when Grimer was bombarded by mental energy.  
  
The  
  
pile of sludge didn't stand a chance against Mr. Mime's psychic powers.  
  
"Grimer, return," ordered the gym leader, "Caterpie, GO!"  
  
The powerful Caterpie tied Mr. Mime up in string shot before Ross could  
  
retaliate.  
  
"Mr. Mime, return!" called Ross, holding up the proper pokeball.  
  
'Caterpie will have to string shot any opponent in order to attack,'  
  
thought Ross, 'What  
  
pokemon can't be tied up?'  
  
Ross threw a pokeball out with an answer.  
  
"Gas-tly," called the gaseous pokemon.  
  
"Night shade!" instructed Ross.  
  
Caterpie instinctively used string shot when the room went dark. When the  
  
night shade  
  
wore off, Caterpie was unconscious and upside-down in a web of string shot!  
  
"Caterpie, return," ordered the defeated trainer.  
  
"Way to GO, GASTLY!" cheered Ross.  
  
"Raw, raw, sis-boom BAW!" called the small Pikachu on his shoulder, wearing  
  
a  
  
cheerleader outfit.  
  
Seeing the small pokemon dancing with pom-poms, Gastly let out a  
  
side-splitting laugh.  
  
Gas was starting to spill out of Gastly's mouth, hiding his form.  
  
"Gastly?" asked the Pikachu, stopping his cheer.  
  
"There isn't any Gastly here. Only," commented a new raspy voice,  
  
"HAUNTER!" A  
  
solid purple pokemon with separate hands burst out of the dissipating gas,  
  
scaring the small  
  
Pikachu half to death!  
  
"NYA!" screamed the panic-stricken pokemon as it cowered behind Ross's  
  
right leg.  
  
"Ha-ha-haha!" laughed the ghost, enjoying every moment of Pikachu's fright.  
  
regaining  
  
his self-confidence, Pikachu jumped out and shocked Haunter. "ha," laughed  
  
Haunter as it fell  
  
to the ground.  
  
"Now aren't you two a fine sight!" commented Ross.  
  
"He started it," accused Pikachu.  
  
"Did not," argued Haunter, trying to at least SHARE the blame.  
  
"Did too!" protested Pikachu.  
  
"Did not!" stated Haunter.  
  
"Did too!" claimed Pikachu.  
  
"Not!"  
  
"Too!"  
  
"Not!"  
  
"Too!"  
  
"NOT!"  
  
"ENOUGH!" shouted Ross, stepping between the two pokemon.  
  
"Too," stated Pikachu, sticking out his tongue in a final insult.  
  
"Do you want this badge or not?" asked Nick, standing next to Ross with  
  
something in  
  
his hand.  
  
"Just a sec," Ross said to the man beside him. Turning to the pokemon,  
  
Ross said,  
  
"Pikachu, BACKPACK!"  
  
Pikachu started, "But Haunter..."  
  
"Don't worry about Haunter," commented Ross. Pikachu sulked as he climbed  
  
up Ross  
  
and hopped into his backpack. Haunter was laughing it up until Ross, looking  
  
straight into the  
  
ghost's face, added, "He's not getting off Scott free either."  
  
Haunter let out a resounding gulp before going into one of Ross's  
  
pokeballs. "They seem  
  
like a handful," commented Nick.  
  
Ross just shook his head and calmly asked, "You have my badge?"  
  
"Oh," said Nick as he snapped back to reality, "Right here." Nick held up  
  
an open hand  
  
holding a metal Diglett pin only half the size of any other badge.  
  
Ross gratefully took it and realized that he had to ask a question. "Why  
  
do you train  
  
SMALL pokemon?"  
  
"They're easier to handle, not as scary," pointed out Nick, "And a lot  
  
faster!"  
  
Still slightly puzzled, Ross said, "Oh," shaking his head in false  
  
understanding. Chapter 96-All Aboard!  
  
At the Vermilion docks, the S.S. Marie was making final preparations to  
  
depart. At first,  
  
Ross thought that the ticket man would kick him out. A counterfeit ticket or  
  
something. But  
  
Ross was let on like anyone else.  
  
A large feast and convention was going on in the main chamber and pokemon  
  
battles  
  
were in a roped-off area on deck. It was definitely going to be a great cruise.  
  
According to his ticket, he was in room #458. Ross took the elevator four  
  
floors down  
  
and walked down a right-hand hall. It wasn't long before Ross found a door  
  
plaque that read  
  
458.  
  
Inside the room, there was a living room, a bathroom, and a bedroom with  
  
four bunks.  
  
"Four bunks!?!" Ross did a double take. Sure enough, two bunks lined each  
  
wall next 90  
  
degrees to the door. Closing the door, Ross looked around the accommodations.  
  
A small wood  
  
table with four room keys sat under a porthole. "I still don't now who sent me  
  
that ticket,"  
  
commented Ross, rubbing a finger along a wood table under the door, "But they  
  
have good  
  
taste!" Snatching a room key off the clean table, Ross bent over on the lower  
  
bunk behind the  
  
door and shifted through his stuff.  
  
Behind his back, the door popped open and knocked Ross upside-down against  
  
the  
  
shadowy wall. A Pikachu ran in and jumped onto the table with the keys. "We  
  
found them!"  
  
shouted a voice behind the door.  
  
"Do you MIND!?!" asked Ross to the unseen figure as he kicked the door  
  
shut.  
  
"OUCH!" complained the voice.  
  
"pi-Ka-CHU!" called a high pitched, lightning fast voice from the table.  
  
"GYA!!!!!" cried Ross as he was electrocuted. Once the electricity  
  
stopped, Ross  
  
collapsed in a heap. The door opened again and someone walked in, but Ross  
  
couldn't see from  
  
his angle. "First I get assaulted by a door when I'm checking my stuff, "  
  
commented Ross the  
  
human lightning rod, attracting his guests attention, "And now this."  
  
The tiny Pikachu hopped out of Ross's backpack and helped Ross get sorted  
  
out.  
  
Eventually, Ross managed to climb out the bunk and see three other people in the  
  
room.  
  
"ROSS!" exclaimed one of the humans in a red hat and the table-bound  
  
Pikachu.  
  
"Ash?" wondered Ross, "Pikachu?"  
  
"Isn't that the kid that crashed on Indigo when he was being chased by Team  
  
Rocket?"  
  
asked an orange-haired photographer. Ross stood up to his full height  
  
"Sure is!"exclaimed another black-haired man with a bruised nose, "What are  
  
you doing  
  
here?"  
  
"I have a ticket!" explained Ross, pulling his ticket out of the backpack,  
  
"See?" The  
  
photographer took Ross's ticket and compared it with his own.  
  
"I guess he was also assigned this room," commented the camera-bearer.  
  
"Excuse me," started Ross, looking at the stranger, "But who are you?"  
  
"I'm Todd," introduced the picture-taker, "I'm here to help document the  
  
pokemon  
  
convention."  
  
"How are things going?" asked an enthusiastic Ash.  
  
"Pretty well," commented Ross, "I have more evolution stones than I could  
  
ever need, 44  
  
different pokemon, and 10 more badges to go with the beginners' badge I already  
  
have!"  
  
"Not bad for only about a month and a half!" commented Ash's Pikachu.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Misty later joined Ross, Ash, Todd, Brock and Pikachu at the banquet. Ross  
  
explained  
  
how the small Pikachu was alone and abandoned when he found it while everyone  
  
ate.  
  
"I gave it some suggestions and led it into town," explained Ross, "It  
  
still hasn't decided  
  
what to do."  
  
"Well it does have until we return to Vermilion in a few days," pointed out  
  
Todd.  
  
The Pikachus started to converse, but Ross talked with the trainers and  
  
didn't listen in.  
  
Most of the conversation was about experiences with Team Rocket and Todd's  
  
recent journey to  
  
Pokemon Island.  
  
"Those Charmander must have been really hungry," commented Todd, "Because  
  
every  
  
time I threw out some bait, they would start screeching and jumping around like  
  
it was  
  
Thanksgiving or something!"  
  
"That must have been a great shot!" commented Ross.  
  
"You better believe it," proclaimed Todd, "And on my way back to develop  
  
the film, an  
  
Arcanine leaped out of a lava pit and shook like a normal wet dog!"  
  
"That must have stunk," stated Ross.  
  
"Speaking of stinking," added a voice behind Ross, "If it isn't the  
  
stinking trainer from  
  
Pallet." Turning around Ross saw Ricky standing like the world was at his feet.  
  
"Who're your loser friends?" asked Ricky.  
  
"LOSERS!?!" shouted Misty, jumping up with red in her eyes.  
  
"Where do you get off insulting my friends?" asked Ross.  
  
"Yeah!" added Ash's Pikachu.  
  
"I had to say SOMETHING to get through that thick skull of yours,"  
  
commented Ricky.  
  
"That's IT!" proclaimed Ross, "I challenge you to a pokemon battle!" Chapter 97-Rough Seas  
  
On the deck of the ship, water was seen in all directions. No one else was  
  
using the  
  
battle area except Ross and Ricky. Ash and company were lined up along one side  
  
with BOTH  
  
Pikachus.  
  
"Boundary rules," proclaimed Ricky, "Best out of 5 1-on-1 rounds."  
  
"Agreed,"stated Ross, "Haunter, I choose you!" Haunter floated out and  
  
pretended to  
  
breath in the salty sea air. Ricky was slightly nervous about battling a ghost.  
  
"Did Gastly evolve?" asked Ash, knowing that Ross caught one in Lavender,  
  
"Or is this  
  
another ghost?"  
  
"Evolution," answered Ross as Ricky sent out a Charmander.  
  
"Hypnosis,"called Ross.  
  
"Slash!" ordered Ricky.  
  
Charmander swung a claw through Haunter while everyone else looked away.  
  
Haunter  
  
flashed a spectrum of colors before Charmander started snoring. With the first  
  
round won, Ross  
  
and Ricky called back their pokemon.  
  
"Moltres, GO!" called Ross.  
  
"Graveler, GO!" retaliated Ricky.  
  
"Fire spin!" stated Ross.  
  
"Rock throw!" instructed Ricky.  
  
Moltres flew over the water to launch a fire spin, but was hit by a rock.  
  
Moltres fell  
  
towards the ocean until Ross called it back. Pleased with his victory, Ricky  
  
recalled Graveler  
  
and sent out Rhyhorn.  
  
"Hitmonlee, GO!" shouted Ross. A crowd was developing to watch the ensuing  
  
battle.  
  
"Use the cyclone kick!"  
  
"Horn attack!" called Ricky.  
  
Hitmonlee started to spin, swinging his left foot around and around.  
  
Floating towards  
  
Rhyhorn, Hitmonlee let out a war cry. Rhyhorn stabbed at the spinning pokemon  
  
until it was  
  
kicked into a concrete barrier, cracking it. Rhyhorn was out of it and was in  
  
no condition to  
  
continue fighting.  
  
"Stomp!" called Ricky.  
  
A slightly startled Ross called out for a jump-drop kick. Hitmonlee jumped  
  
into the air  
  
in the general direction of his opponent. Instead of coming straight down,  
  
Hitmonlee started to  
  
do cartwheels in mid-air. Rhyhorn tried to position himself, but was hit hard,  
  
and fainted.  
  
Ricky called back Rhyhorn while Hitmonlee stumbled out of the field and  
  
steadied  
  
himself against the cracked barrier with Ash and friends.  
  
It was Ross's turn to send first since he won the last match. "Tangela,  
  
GO!" he called.  
  
"Nidorino, GO!" called Ricky.  
  
"Vine whip!" called Ross.  
  
"Poison sting!" retaliated Ricky.  
  
Tangela's vines were stung several times, releasing a deadly toxin into  
  
Tangela's body.  
  
"Call it back!" called some guy in the crowd, "Poison can grind grass  
  
pokemon INTO  
  
grass!"  
  
'He's right,' thought Ross, 'Tangela doesn't stand a chance!'  
  
"Tangela, return!" called Ross, holding a pokeball pointed at Tangela.  
  
Tangela  
  
reluctantly returned and Ricky called back Nidorino.  
  
Ross selected his fifth pokeball while Ricky tossed his. "Oddish,"  
  
introduced the small  
  
pokemon. Ross threw his out.  
  
"Mon-CHAN!" exclaimed the boxing pokemon.  
  
"Tackle!" called Ricky.  
  
"Ice punch!" exclaimed Ross.  
  
Oddish ran at Hitmonchan and tackled Hitmonchan's fist! Oddish flew  
  
motionless in the  
  
air and fell in front of Ricky's feet, spinning motionless in a shade of light  
  
blue. Ricky angrily  
  
picked up the frozen pokemon, dropped some green bills, and walked to the  
  
stairs. Chapter 98-Spotting Rockets  
  
Back in the convention room, Hitmonlee was asking what happened during the  
  
fight.  
  
"...Then you did sort of a combination between a jump and rolling kick and KO'd  
  
Rhyhorn!"  
  
explained Todd, "I got some great shots of it!"  
  
"A second new move from the same Hitmonlee. First the cyclone kick and now  
  
a  
  
somersault kick" commented Ross, looking at the Hitmonlee beside him. "You're  
  
definitely  
  
unique."  
  
"Thank you," said Hitmonlee. Hitmonlee then stopped and said, "Not again."  
  
"What?" asked Brock. Hitmonlee just pointed into the crowd.  
  
"Hitmonlee," whispered Ross, seeing the problem, "Into the pokeball."  
  
Hitmonlee was  
  
only too happy to oblige.  
  
"I don't get it," stated Misty, "What is it?"  
  
Facing away from the problem, Ross jerked a thumb over his shoulder and  
  
asked, "Do  
  
you see that waiter there?"  
  
After looking past Ross, Ash said, "Yes, what about him?"  
  
"His name's Mike. He made a lousy trade with me involving a Spearow for  
  
the  
  
Hitmonchan you saw me use today," explained Ross.  
  
"So?" asked Brock.  
  
"So," continued Ross, "After a while, he showed up again and made a bet on  
  
a battle we  
  
had. He lost and I also got his Hitmonlee."  
  
"And he's been bitter ever since," finished Todd, "Right?"  
  
"Not only that," corrected Ross, "You remember that adventure in Stone Town  
  
I told you  
  
about? He was one of the Rockets in the zoo!"  
  
"If only one Rocket is in sight," started Ash, "Others might be all around  
  
you. Stay on  
  
your toes."  
  
Everyone nodded as Ash continued, "Look around for any other Rockets, but  
  
don't  
  
confront them."  
  
Again the nod as the group worked their way around the Rocket. After  
  
looking around,  
  
the group returned to the male's quarters.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Anyone recognize more Rockets?" asked Todd, sipping a can of soda.  
  
"I spotted eight more that I know," stated Ross, "Nine including Mike. The  
  
worst one  
  
was Aroduc from Cloud City."  
  
"That makes a grand total of 23 KNOWN Rockets," pointed out Brock, "I think  
  
that this  
  
is a trap."  
  
'It would explain why there was no return address on my ticket,' reasoned  
  
Ross.  
  
"So what do we do?" asked Misty.  
  
"If I was in charge of a job this size," started Ash, "I would wait until  
  
we were as far out  
  
to sea as possible where there is little chance of interference."  
  
"Wouldn't that be sometime tomorrow?" asked Ross.  
  
"Yep," commented Todd, "And they'll probably do it when no decent trainer  
  
would miss  
  
it."  
  
"I say we talk to the captain," said Misty.  
  
"We don't know if HE'S a Rocket," pointed out Ross.  
  
"Then we wait in the convention room until they spring the trap," stated  
  
Ash, "And hope  
  
we don't get caught in it." Chapter 99-Confrontation  
  
That night Ross had a dream, the first one in a long while. In this one,  
  
Ross was on the  
  
S.S. Marie as it was capsizing. Ross heard a loud clang and a blue blur was  
  
leading him through  
  
a weird forest. At the end of the forest was a computer. Ross started typing  
  
on it and one word  
  
flashed across the screen, DATAEATER. Ross turned around and he was on his  
  
inflatable raft,  
  
rowing towards an island full of pokemon cries.  
  
Ross sat straight up and thumped his head on the overhead bunk. "Ow," he  
  
whispered,  
  
rubbing his head.  
  
"Ross?" asked a sleepy-eyed Pikachu, sticking his head down from the bunk  
  
above Ross.  
  
"Sorry Pikachu," apologized Ross, "Did I wake you?"  
  
"Nah, I was thinking about your gloves," stated the upside-down electric  
  
mouse.  
  
"Whatever," whispered Ross, turning away, "Goodnight."  
  
"You can stop pretending with me Ross," commented Pikachu, "I know that you  
  
can  
  
understand me, clear-as-a-bell."  
  
"How do you know that!?!" asked an astonished Ross.  
  
"Your gloves," explained the mouse, "They symbolize many things, like one  
  
who can  
  
understand pokemon. By any chance, have they ever illuminated?"  
  
"Several times actually," confessed Ross.  
  
Pikachu then asked, "Did the brain icon ever glow while you were touching a  
  
pokemon?"  
  
"Yes," commented Ross, "When I was holding a Marowak in the Stone Town  
  
battle."  
  
"And you were then able to use some of Marowak's attacks," added Pikachu,  
  
"Right?"  
  
Ross opened his mouth to speak, but Todd tossed in his sleep. "An Arcanine  
  
and  
  
Growlithe are jumping out of those lava pits!" claimed Todd, "Gotta get a  
  
picture of THAT!"  
  
Pikachu chuckled while Ross whispered, "Growllllllllllllll-lithe!"  
  
"I'm not going to hurt you puppy," commented Todd, "I just want a nice  
  
close-up."  
  
Pikachu nearly fell apart at this while Ross just smiled and said,  
  
"'Night." Chapter 100-Water Rockets  
  
The next morning, everyone woke up to the combined sound of four alarm  
  
clocks. Those  
  
sleeping in upper bunks fell out and crashed onto the floor. When the offending  
  
noise-makers  
  
were shut off, Ross, Ash, and Brock got dressed and walked into the parlor where  
  
someone was  
  
knocking on the door.  
  
Brock answered it. "It's about time you guys woke up!" complained Misty,  
  
"I've been  
  
waiting for an hour!"  
  
"Is she always like this in the morning?" asked Ross as he sat down to tie  
  
his tennis  
  
shoes. Misty took offense and punched Ross in the back of the head.  
  
"Only when she hasn't had her coffee and doesn't get enough sleep,"  
  
answered a calm  
  
Ash. Misty dealt another punch to Ash.  
  
"Are we going or what?" asked Misty.  
  
"We're waiting for Todd to finish loading his cameras for when TR attacks,"  
  
explained  
  
Brock. At that moment, the bedroom door opened and Todd was loaded by about 10  
  
cameras.  
  
"Was he loading cameras?" asked Misty, "Or were the cameras loading him?"  
  
"Very funny Misty," commented Todd. The five humans walked off to  
  
breakfast, with  
  
the two Pikachus riding.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
After a hearty breakfast and about a gallon of coffee(half of which was  
  
drunk by Misty),  
  
everyone walked back to the convention and spread out. Ross had everything he  
  
brought on  
  
board in item balls and his backpack. Ross just had a sinking feeling that he  
  
would want  
  
everything with him.  
  
The convention was full of selling booths and recruiting stations. A  
  
smooth talker was  
  
trying to sell some Magikarp to a group of waiters. A man at another booth was  
  
handing out  
  
'advanced' pokedexes. A final booth sold sea pokemon that the crew of the S.S.  
  
Marie caught  
  
but had no use for. Of course, that was where Ross ran into Misty, trying to  
  
get the salesman to  
  
lower the price on a Tentacool.  
  
"Do you really think anyone is going to give you $1000 for a pokemon as  
  
common as  
  
Tentacool?" asked Misty.  
  
"Someone bought one yesterday," claimed the man.  
  
'What a lousy lier,' thought Ross. Apparently though, Misty believed him  
  
and stormed  
  
off to the deck.  
  
Ross walked around a few more times before spotting Ash, trying to haggle a  
  
man at the  
  
custom bike shop. When the man refused to lower the price, Ash got angry,  
  
counted his money,  
  
and marched off to where Misty was.  
  
Todd was looking at a high-power lens admirably. Although he frowned  
  
looking at the  
  
price tag. Setting it down, Todd did some more walking.  
  
Brock was at a breeder booth, trying to smooth-talk the girl running it.  
  
When Todd  
  
walked by, Brock pulled him over and told him to take pictures of them.  
  
Once Todd used about 20 exposures on the couple, Brock said, "Now I want 4  
  
8-by-10s,  
  
4 wallet size, and 6 10-by-13s!"  
  
"Okay, okay!" said Todd, "I got it!"  
  
After Todd walked off in one direction, Brock walked towards Ross. Ross  
  
grabbed  
  
Brock's elbow and said, "You're sad. You know that?"  
  
"Yeah," commented Brock with hearts in his eyes, "And your point would be?"  
  
Ross wasn't sure what to say until the doors slammed shut. Several men and  
  
women tore  
  
off crew uniforms and civilian clothes revealing Team Rocket uniforms.  
  
'Show time,' thought Ross as the Team Rocket poem played over the intercom.  
  
At the  
  
end of it, a voice ordered everyone to turn their pokemon in with a member of  
  
Team Rocket and  
  
no one would be hurt.  
  
"You'll have to beat me FIRST!" someone called out.  
  
"Nido!" called a pokemon.  
  
Soon, everyone sent out pokemon to fight off Team Rocket. Joining in, Ross  
  
sent out  
  
Kadabra, Staryu, Growlithe, his Pikachu, Ivysaur, and Charmeleon.  
  
Without time to send out their pokemon, Team Rocket soon lost and was blown  
  
off the  
  
ship by a very large whirlwind. Ross and the wild Pikachu got caught up in the  
  
after-gust. Ross  
  
clung to a support beam with Pikachu on his backpack.  
  
Finally, the wind stopped and Ross fell to the floor. Ross looked for the  
  
Pikachu but  
  
found a loud thunder clap and major tilt in the ship instead. 'Uh-oh,' thought  
  
Ross as he ran  
  
through the now open door with all of his pokemon giving chase.  
  
"The ship is going to sink!" proclaimed the same unseen voice as the last  
  
two times, "Get  
  
to the lifeboats!"  
  
There was a rush out of the convention room as everyone hurried to safety.  
  
Ross put his  
  
pokemon into their pokeballs as the ship rocked towards Ross. Trying to regain  
  
his balance, a  
  
plump blue pokemon jumped out of Ross's backpack and ran into the convention  
  
room.  
  
'A Pikablu?' wondered Ross as he followed the Pikablu as it darted through  
  
the forest of  
  
legs.  
  
"Come back here Pikablu!" called Ross, "The boat is going to sink!"  
  
Pikablu just  
  
laughed and kept running, thinking it was a game. After darting between  
  
overturned tables and  
  
panicked people, Ross finally managed to get a hold of Pikablu when the ship  
  
tilted again. Ross  
  
ran back out but all of the life boats were gone. No one was left on- board!  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Wow!" shouted Todd, readying his camera for when the S.S. Marie would  
  
sink.  
  
"Where's everyone else?" asked Ash.  
  
"Probably on another life boat," commented Todd, focusing his camera, "Or  
  
maybe not."  
  
"What do you mean?" questioned Ash. Todd handed the camera to Ash and  
  
pointed at a  
  
spot on deck. Ash looked through the camera at a person still on board. Chapter 101-Definitely NOT the Love Boat  
  
'Now this could be a challenge,' thought Ross. He pulled out Fearow's  
  
pokeball and  
  
looked for a opening in the lifeboats. Ross didn't see any and thought that he  
  
was going to wind  
  
up stuck on the ship when the boat flipped behind him. Ross was sent tumbling  
  
into the sea.  
  
Ross was in the chaotic storm water, being pulled down by suction from the  
  
sinking ship.  
  
Thinking fast Ross pulled out an item ball and opened it. The yellow raft  
  
emerged in the water  
  
and floated upwards.  
  
Ross grabbed it and rode it up to the surface. Ross took several gasping  
  
breaths of air  
  
while Pikablu hopped into the raft. Ross attached Fearow pokeball back to his  
  
belt and climbed  
  
into the raft, glad to be out of the water. Ross pulled out his pokedex and  
  
started it up. Ross had  
  
to select a password for future use and selected 'DATAEATER.' He soon found a  
  
navigation  
  
feature.  
  
"According to this," started Ross, pointing past the ripples where the S.S.  
  
Marie had  
  
been, "The closest point of the mainland is a couple miles in that direction. A  
  
peninsula about  
  
10 miles from Gringe."  
  
"Then let's GO!" proclaimed Pikablu. Ross picked up the oar secured to a  
  
side of the  
  
raft and started rowing.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Well, will you look at that!" commented Todd, looking at a yellow raft as  
  
it worked it's  
  
way through floating debris. He was taking pictures of the remains of the ship  
  
when he noticed  
  
it.  
  
"Incredible," commented the uniformed crewman. Most of the boats had  
  
started rowing  
  
away from the storm towards Vermilion, but some were staying behind for pictures  
  
or memories.  
  
"AHOY!" called Ross as he worked his way through the debris.  
  
"Ahoy!" called back Ash's Pikachu.  
  
"Where are you going?" asked Ash.  
  
"To the nearest land!" proclaimed Ross, rowing alongside the lifeboat.  
  
"But Vermilion is THAT way and the storm is turning right in front of you!"  
  
stated the  
  
sailor.  
  
"Vermilion's not closer, and once I'm clear of this debris, I'll have  
  
smooth sailing!"  
  
claimed Ross.  
  
"You won't stand a CHANCE against that storm alone!" called the familiar  
  
voice.  
  
"Who says I'm alone?" asked the smiling Ross, glancing at Pikablu.  
  
"Good luck then sailor!" called one of the rowmen, "You're going to need  
  
it!"  
  
"So long!" called Ash, "I hope you make it!" With that, the boats  
  
separated and Ross  
  
called out a Gyarados to push him.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Do you really think that he'll make it?" asked Todd.  
  
"I don't know," commented Ash, "What do you think Pikachu?" No response.  
  
"Pikachu? Where's Pikachu!?!"  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Well, it looks like we've got ourselves a stowaway," commented Ross as the  
  
boat sped  
  
ahead of the storm, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I wanted to have an adventure without Ash," claimed Pikachu, "That and I  
  
wanted to  
  
keep talking with you."  
  
"What about?" asked Ross.  
  
"I feel that I should warn you that the design on your gloves also bares a  
  
terrible curse,"  
  
started Pikachu, "Those that bare the six point star usually face a great deal  
  
of hardships."  
  
"I knew that collecting the badges would be difficult," commented Ross,  
  
"That's one of  
  
the reasons why I became a trainer."  
  
"But you will be facing many more difficult challenges," claimed Pikachu,  
  
"The worst of  
  
which will be at the highlight of your career."  
  
"How hard could it be?" asked Ross.  
  
"Once, a trainer had to battle a pure ghost pokemon," stated Pikachu, "ON  
  
HER OWN!"  
  
"What happened?" questioned Ross.  
  
"She lost the match..." stated Pikachu, "And her HEAD!"  
  
"Are there any other perks that I should know about these gloves?" asked  
  
Ross.  
  
"Let's see," hummed Pikachu, "Losing them is impossible. You can learn any  
  
pokemon  
  
attacks that you see. Most pokemon will do what you say unless they haven't  
  
been beaten  
  
before. Oh yes! I just remembered!"  
  
"What?" asked Ross.  
  
"According to the legend," said Pikachu, "One of those burdened managed to  
  
dispel his  
  
curse and keep his skills."  
  
"How!?!" drilled Ross.  
  
"He supposedly passed 3 final tests," said Pikachu, "He battled a terrible  
  
gang of thieves,  
  
saved the ruling family, and defeated Death's pokemon."  
  
"I take it that the pure ghost was Death's pokemon," stated Ross.  
  
"Yes," answered Pikachu, "This earned him the right to carry the seventh  
  
marker on his  
  
gloves, a fist on a heart background, the symbol of courage, loyalty, and  
  
strength. Wearing the  
  
seventh icon, this person developed a seventh point on his stars."  
  
"Interesting," commented Ross.  
  
"Some pokemon think that this story is just that. Others say it was true,"  
  
explained  
  
Pikachu, "But I know it's true because, because I saw that girl who lost her  
  
head."  
  
"Who was she?" asked Ross.  
  
"Her name was Agatha," stated Pikachu, "She was the mother of Hagatha from  
  
Lavender, and one of the last set of the Elite Four. Maintaining her status of  
  
an Elite Master was  
  
her high point and engaged the curse. I will never forget what that horrible  
  
ghost pokemon said  
  
before decapitating her."  
  
"What did it say?" questioned Ross.  
  
Pikachu looked up at Ross and said, "It said,  
  
'Here me now at your moment of death,  
  
just before you take in your last breath.  
  
The six-point-star,  
  
it has brought you far.  
  
But now at your mastery,  
  
your doom it can foresee.  
  
This curse will continue to spread,  
  
bringing forth even MORE dead.  
  
Your friends will grieve at the loss,  
  
as you slowly turn into moss.  
  
Only one can beat me,  
  
but will soon join thee.  
  
I can't wait to meet this trainer.  
  
The one who calls himself DATAEATER!'"  
  
Ross could hardly believe it when Pikachu quoted his pseudonym at the end  
  
of the poem.  
  
"What was the ghost's name?" asked Ross.  
  
"I think he said that it was Phantos," stated Pikachu.  
  
Ross opened the pokedex and accessed the record on Phantos. "Phantos, the  
  
pure ghost  
  
pokemon," stated the electronic voice, "Unseen by humans, Phantos is described  
  
by pokemon in  
  
numerous legends as 'Death's pokemon.' All pokemon fear Phantos, including  
  
other ghosts and  
  
even Mewtwo."  
  
"This Phantos sounds like one bad pokemon," commented Ross.  
  
"Land HO!" proclaimed Pikablu.  
  
Off in the distance, the peninsula was coming into view. Chapter 102-The Zapdos Storm  
  
Ross called back Gyarados before stepping onto the sandy beach after the  
  
Pikas. The sun  
  
was fading out of sight. The storm had turned again and was heading after the  
  
island.  
  
"It's the curse," explained Pikachu, "The storm is coming after us."  
  
"Then we had better find a safe place to stay the night," stated Ross,  
  
"We'll never make  
  
it to Gringe before the storm."  
  
"Z~Z~Z~A~A~A~P~P~P~P~P~DOS!" hollered the storm. The loud voice scared  
  
Pikablu into one of Ross's pokeballs, officially making it Ross's pokemon.  
  
"That's a Zapdos storm," commented Pikachu, "Brought to you by the gloves  
  
as a  
  
blessing and a curse."  
  
Ross opened the file on Zapdos storms. "When flocks of Zapdos get riled up  
  
during  
  
mating, an intense storm develops called a Zapdos storm. When not mating, most  
  
of the Zapdos  
  
turn into electricity and destroy anything in their path," explained the  
  
pokedex, "Capturing a  
  
Zapdos while it is part of a storm is considered impossible."  
  
"That's about right," commented Pikachu, "Zapdos has only been caught while  
  
they are  
  
alone. Taking on a flock is suicidal!"  
  
"Then we better find cover!" exclaimed Ross, scooping up and running with  
  
Pikachu.  
  
The group had to run for quite a while before they finally came across a  
  
Diglett's cavern.  
  
The pair took cover while the Zapdos storm raged on outside.  
  
"That was close," stated Pikachu while Ross shuffled through his backpack.  
  
"What are  
  
you doing Ross?"  
  
"That storm's not going to let up in time for us to leave," explained Ross,  
  
"So I'm setting  
  
up my hammock for the night."  
  
"Why not just sleep on the ground?" asked Pikachu when a Diglett popped its  
  
head out.  
  
"That's why," commented Ross, acknowledging the Digletts and Dugtrios as  
  
they  
  
appeared.  
  
Pikachu made small talk while Ross tapped some stakes into the walls and  
  
hung his  
  
hammock. Ross called out his pokemon and started a fire.  
  
"It's really nasty out there," stated Mew  
  
"At least we're save in here," claimed Ivysaur, generating more kindling  
  
with razor leaf.  
  
"Maybe we just have the wrong approach to this weather," suggested Pikablu.  
  
"I don't think so," stated Mew, "I just keep getting the feeling that  
  
Mewtwo is going to  
  
run in from the storm."  
  
"The odds of that happening are insurmountable," pointed out Jynx.  
  
"Anyone know any good stories?" asked Growlithe, wagging its tail.  
  
"I could tell you about the Phantos," commented Ash's Pikachu.  
  
"A ghost story!" commented Kadabra, "Excellent choice for the current  
  
predicament."  
  
BERRR-RING! BERRR-RING!  
  
"Excuse me," said Ross, picking up his pokedex. There was a lot of static  
  
on the other  
  
end. "Hello?"  
  
"Ross, this is Ash," introduced the static voice, "By any chance, is  
  
Pikachu with you?"  
  
"Ya, he's right here," answered Ross.  
  
"Good," sighed Ash on the phone, "Where are you?"  
  
"We're in a Diglett cave next to the route 26," stated Ross, "The storm  
  
caught up to us  
  
and we're taking shelter for the night."  
  
"Okay," answered Ash through a surge of static, "We'll be waiting for you  
  
in Gringe  
  
City."  
  
"Okay," commented Ross, "We'll see you there. 'Bye"  
  
"Bye," answered Ash.  
  
"Who was that?" asked Ross's Pikachu.  
  
"That was just Ash," answered Ross, "He'll meet us in Gringe City."  
  
"Isn't that where you said the electric gym was?" asked Pikablu.  
  
"Sure is," commented Ash's Pikachu, "Now about that story." 


	6. Act 6

Sibling Rivalry  
  
By Ross Jacobsen (rbjake@teleport.com) Chapter 103-Zap the Zapdos  
  
It was a restless night. The Zapdos storm raged clear through the night and  
  
into the  
  
morning. Even when Ross woke up, the storm was still too intense to travel  
  
through.  
  
"Pikachu?" asked Growlithe.  
  
"What is it Growlithe?" asked Ash's groggy Pikachu.  
  
"After the Zapdos are done breeding, where will they nest?"  
  
"Well," started Pikachu, "Most of them will probably nest in one of the  
  
abandoned  
  
factories in Gringe, where they can divert electricity. Others will nest in  
  
forests. And some will  
  
find caves."  
  
Ross got a little concerned at the word 'cave.' "What would the Zapdos  
  
consider to BE  
  
an ideal cave?" Ross inquired.  
  
"A cave far from civilization,(pause) plenty of food,(pause) roomy,"  
  
described Pikachu,  
  
"Uh-oh."  
  
"This is an ideal Zapdos nest," commented Poliwag, "Isn't it?"  
  
Ash's Pikachu just nodded. "Do the Diglett's know?" asked Ross.  
  
The Digletts and Dugtrio just nodded and said, "We're ready to fight any  
  
Zapdos that  
  
come after our home."  
  
"We can't just leave them here!" complained Butterfree.  
  
"We have to help!" proclaimed Beedrill.  
  
"It's not easy," commented Golbat, hanging upside-down, "Zapdos has the  
  
powerful  
  
combination of flying and electricity."  
  
"That doesn't really appeal to me," commented Scyther.  
  
"I'm not going to force anyone to fight the Zapdos that doesn't want to,"  
  
stated Ross,  
  
"But I'm going to be fighting because its RIGHT! These Diglett are going to be  
  
fighting for  
  
their home. It's just not right for ANY pokemon to come along and kick them  
  
out."  
  
"ZAAAAAAAAAP!" screeched a voice at the cave's entrance. A pair of yellow  
  
birds  
  
stood, blocking the exit. Beyond them, the storm had stopped and sunlight shone  
  
around the  
  
birds' forms.  
  
Ross pulled out his pocket knife and bone he got from Stone Town. Ross  
  
took a fighting  
  
stance and asked, "Who's fighting?"  
  
All of Ross's pokemon looked at the Zapdos, who screeched loudly.  
  
Panicking, Ross's  
  
pokemon leaped into their pokeballs. Only Butterfree, Beedrill, Ash's Pikachu,  
  
Ross, and the  
  
wild ground pokemon stayed to fight. The Zapdos flew outside where they could  
  
maneuver and  
  
everyone followed.  
  
One of the Zapdos sat in a tree while the other one flew into a battle  
  
position. The  
  
ground pokemon were up first. The battle was short and painful for the Digletts  
  
and Dugtrio.  
  
Unable to reach Zapdos, Zapdos easily beat them with a few well placed pecks.  
  
Pikachu ran out next, but couldn't shock the electric bird. The battle  
  
lasted longer than  
  
with the ground pokemon, but Pikachu wound up having to run.  
  
Butterfree and Beedrill flew out next, but a drill peck to Beedrill and  
  
thunder shock to  
  
Butterfree ended the battle.  
  
Only Ross was left. He started with a bonemerang, missing Zapdos the first  
  
time.  
  
Zapdos charged for a thunder bolt, but missed when the bone hit it on the  
  
return. The bolt hit  
  
the tree holding the second Zapdos, setting it on fire.  
  
Zapdos #2 flew at Ross to peck him in mid-air as he jumped. Ross caught  
  
the bone and  
  
slammed it across the beaked face.  
  
The two Zapdos flapped next to each other and began to gather electricity.  
  
Realizing that  
  
the Zapdos were teaming up on him, Ross raised a psychic barrier.  
  
Electricity flew between the birds and Ross, protected by the barrier.  
  
After about a  
  
minute of attempted electrocution, the fatter of the two birds collapsed and the  
  
second one  
  
stopped.  
  
'Now's my chance!' thought Ross as he pulled out two ultra balls. One from  
  
his first day  
  
as a trainer and the other he bought. Ross threw the two without making a  
  
sound.  
  
Ross caught the birds by surprise as the powerful pokeballs sucked them in.  
  
The leaner  
  
of the two escaped while the second was still shaking in the ultra ball.  
  
"ZAAAPDOOOS!" screamed the angry bird, flying at Ross.  
  
Ross pulled back his right hand, holding the pocket knife in an ideal  
  
throwing position.  
  
Zapdos charged at Ross, not the least bit scared of the blade. Ross threw the  
  
knife and ran after  
  
it.  
  
Zapdos ducked and Ross just stomped over its back. Ross grabbed his empty  
  
ultra ball  
  
while the Zapdos turned around and the second ultra ball stopped shaking. Ross  
  
focused on an  
  
ice blue beam emerging from his hands.  
  
An aurora beam shot out and encased the second Zapdos in a sheet of ice.  
  
Ross tossed  
  
the ultra ball again and waited what seemed like an eternity until the struggle  
  
indicator went out.  
  
Ross did a back flip as he shouted out a victory cry. "We did it!" he  
  
exclaimed while  
  
Ash's Pikachu came out of hiding.  
  
"You caught BOTH Zapdos!?!" asked a surprised Pikachu, "Incredible!"  
  
"We better get to Gringe fast," commented Ross, "I think one of them is  
  
going to lay  
  
eggs soon!"  
  
Ross called out Fearow and flew to Gringe with Pikachu. Chapter 104-Zapdos Eggs  
  
At the pokemon center, Nurse Joy took the two Zapdos back into the  
  
treatment room  
  
with Ross. Pikachu waited at the front desk for Ash and company to arrive.  
  
"You thaw out the male," instructed Nurse Joy, "I'll handle the female with  
  
Chansey."  
  
"Okay," answered Ross, taking a stretcher with the frozen male to the thaw  
  
machine.  
  
After about 3 minutes, Zapdos cracked out of its ice shell and stayed near the  
  
heater.  
  
"Wh-wh-why did you stop us from c-c-claiming our ne-ne, ne-ne-ne, nest?"  
  
asked the  
  
chattering bird. Ross checked Nurse Joy and saw that she was having trouble  
  
with the female as  
  
it worked out the first egg.  
  
"That cave was already occupied," whispered Ross, "This hospital is also a  
  
better place  
  
for your eggs to be laid."  
  
"Rem-mind me to th-ithank you later," stated the male Zapdos before  
  
cringing in pain.  
  
Ross opened a drawer and removed some potion.  
  
"This will help with the pain," explained Ross as he administered the  
  
medicine. Zapdos  
  
relaxed when the medicine took effect.  
  
"I could use some help here ROSS!" called Joy.  
  
Turning around, Ross saw Nurse Joy and Chansey struggling with the female  
  
Zapdos.  
  
"Be right back," said Ross as he ran off to help restrain the girl Zapdos.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Well where are they?" asked Misty. Pikachu pointed towards the treatment  
  
room.  
  
"He's SO lucky," commented Todd, "Imagine. Catching a male and female  
  
teenage  
  
Zapdos with the female about to lay eggs!"  
  
"I wonder what he'll do with them all," stated Ash.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"4 eggs and both parents are just fine," claimed Joy when both Zapdos were  
  
asleep.  
  
"Incredible," said Chansey.  
  
"The Zapdos and eggs won't be ready to leave until tomorrow," reminded Joy,  
  
"Question  
  
though is this. What are you going to do with 6 Zapdos?"  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"How are they doing?" asked Misty when Ross walked out of the treatment  
  
room.  
  
"4 eggs and the two parents are doing fine," stated Ross, "They should be  
  
able to leave  
  
tomorrow."  
  
"Any idea what you're going to do with all of those Zapdos?" asked Brock.  
  
"Well," started Ross, "I was hoping that you all could take care of them  
  
until I finish my  
  
journey."  
  
"REALLY!?!" exclaimed Ash, Pikachu, Misty, and Brock at once. Todd was  
  
startled by  
  
the shout and nearly dropped his camera.  
  
Ross smiled and said, "Yes. Unless, of course, you don't want to or can  
  
suggest someone  
  
better."  
  
"We'll do it," answered Ash, "We're going to go to the old electric plant  
  
for a while.  
  
There's tons of pokemon in there. Do you want to come?"  
  
Ross looked at his watch before saying, "Why not? I've got some time  
  
before the gym  
  
closes."  
  
"Great!" stated Todd, "Let's go." The group walked out of the center and  
  
along the  
  
waterfront to an old power plant. Chapter 105-The Gringe Power Plant  
  
Inside, the old power plant was dark and dingy. Ash led the way down a  
  
long hallway.  
  
Ross wondered what pokemon would live there.  
  
"Mostly electric and sludge pokemon," answered Ash, "Ground pokemon, like  
  
Sandshrew and Cubone are ideal to bring here."  
  
"I thought that you had more than enough pokemon," stated Ross.  
  
"We're here to find more pokemon for tournament prizes," answered Brock.  
  
*clang*  
  
"What was that?" asked Misty, spinning around to look back down the hall.  
  
"What was what?" asked Todd.  
  
*Clang*  
  
"THAT!" answered Misty.  
  
"You must be hearing things," stated Ash.  
  
CLANG!!!  
  
"Hearing very LOUD things," added Brock.  
  
"Sounds like metal on metal," commented Ross.  
  
"An electric pokemon," stated Ash, pulling out a pokeball, "Sandslash, GO!"  
  
A yellow shrew with a brown back appeared, staring intently down the hall.  
  
Another  
  
loud clang. A Magnemite floated into sight and crashed into the wall with  
  
another clang.  
  
"I don't think that Magnemite is in any condition to fight," said Ross.  
  
The Magnemite clanged into the wall again.  
  
"I think you're right," mentioned Brock, "It can't seem to float straight."  
  
"It looks like it has a screw loose," suggested Todd.  
  
"That's not a very nice thing to say about a pokemon," argued Ash.  
  
"No," complained Ross, "It really DOES have a loose screw. Look!"  
  
Ash turned to the Magnemite and saw that its right screw was trying to fall  
  
out.  
  
"It shouldn't take too long to fix," commented Ross, pulling out his pocket  
  
knife and  
  
flipped out a screwdriver. Ross walked over to Magnemite, slightly nervous, but  
  
stayed put.  
  
After a few easy turns, the Magnemite was floating perfectly balanced.  
  
"There we go," mentioned Ross, "Good as new."  
  
Magnemite floated a little higher before encircling Ross.  
  
"What is it doing?" asked Misty as Magnemite continued its slow circle,  
  
facing Ross the  
  
entire time. Todd was snapping pictures of the Magnemite while everyone else  
  
just watched.  
  
"Let's go," stated Ash, "There's still lots more pokemon around."  
  
Ash, Pikachu, Brock, and Misty resumed walking down the corridor with  
  
Sandslash.  
  
Todd took another couple pictures before following. Magnemite continued to  
  
circle Ross until  
  
Ross walked past it after the group.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
'Generator room,' read Ross on the door before him.  
  
"Most of the pokemon will be in here," explained Misty, "I hope we find a  
  
Pikablu!"  
  
"PiKA!" complained Pikachu.  
  
"No offense," apologized Misty.  
  
"Are we ever going to go inside?" asked Brock.  
  
"Yeah," stated Sandslash.  
  
'I am starting to get tired of being Doctor Dolittle," thought Ross. Ash  
  
turned the handle  
  
and walked into the illuminated room.  
  
"I thought you said that this place was overrun by pokemon," commented  
  
Ross, "Why  
  
are the lights on in here?"  
  
"Some of the pokemon keep a couple generators running to make this room  
  
more  
  
hospitable to them," explained Brock.  
  
"I have to get some pictures of that!" exclaimed Todd, jogging off towards  
  
one of the  
  
active generators.  
  
It wasn't too long before Todd screamed as electricity flew through the  
  
air. Sandslash  
  
ran over to help and disappeared around a corner.  
  
Moments later, Sandslash was sent flying into what looked like a stand- up,  
  
broken-down  
  
tape-player from the 80s. Ross instinctively pulled out his blade and readied  
  
it for battle.  
  
"That might not work," pointed out Misty, "A ground pokemon would be  
  
better."  
  
Walking cautiously to the corner, Ross looked around the corner.  
  
POW!  
  
Ross was sent flying into another oversized tape-player by a yellow fist.  
  
Holding his  
  
head, Ross shook out the cobwebs and looked at a pair of yellow pokemon with  
  
black stripes.  
  
One had the neck like a giraffe, while the other had electric probes on its  
  
head.  
  
When the figures walked towards Ross, Brock identified them. "Electabuzz  
  
and  
  
Tenroo!" Brock cried, "We have a serious problem."  
  
"Let's beat these pokemon!" ordered Ash, sending out several of his  
  
pokemon.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Before too long, all of the pokemon were out cold. "We have to make a run  
  
for it Ash!"  
  
proclaimed Misty, "Before..." *sniff-sniff* "Uh-oh."  
  
"GRIMER!" exclaimed Pikachu in a panic.  
  
"RUN FOR IT!" shouted Brock.  
  
Everyone ran for the door. The wretched smell and sound of flowing sludge  
  
increased.  
  
Ash carrying Pikachu ran out. Then Misty, Brock, and Todd. Suddenly, 4 Grimers  
  
slid past the  
  
door and a single Grimer blocked the door. Ross was trapped between a Grimer, a  
  
Tenroo, and  
  
an Electabuzz. Ross pulled out four pokeballs.  
  
(NOTE: For those of you that haven't already figured it out, I have made  
  
several  
  
presumptions on info provided by various websites on the new pokemon gold/silver  
  
game.  
  
Others I just made up, like several of the psychic pokemon from Stone Town  
  
Evolution Zoo.)  
  
"Mew, Kadabra, Haunter, Mr.Mime, help our friends down the hall against the  
  
4  
  
Grimer!" ordered Ross, throwing the pokeballs.  
  
The four pokemon appeared behind the Grimer and ran down the hall. Ross  
  
pulled out  
  
another two pokeballs and sent them out in opposite directions.  
  
"Porygon," introduced the pokemon in front of Grimer.  
  
"Graveler!" exclaimed the opponent for the electric pokemon.  
  
"Graveler, earthquake the electric pokemon," instructed Ross, "Porygon,  
  
psybeam  
  
Grimer!"  
  
The concrete block under Graveler and the electric pokemon shook violently,  
  
injuring  
  
and disorienting them. A beam of light shot from Porygon and hit Grimer between  
  
the eyes.  
  
The electric pokemon tried to retaliate with a thunder shock, but were so  
  
out of it that  
  
they electrocuted each other. Grimer hocked up some sludge and missed Porygon,  
  
but hit  
  
Graveler in the back of the head.  
  
Now, Grimer was reeling from the psybeam, Graveler was dirty on the back,  
  
Porygon  
  
was in peak fighting form, and the electric pokemon were fighting each other for  
  
the thunder  
  
shock they each got.  
  
"Graveler, Porygon, psychic and earthquake Grimer!" ordered Ross.  
  
Grimer was shaken and totaled by the attacks, leaving it a 2-on 2 battle.  
  
"Pokeball, GO!" called Ross throwing a pokeball.  
  
But instead of sucking Grimer IN, a pokemon came OUT! After a while, the  
  
pokemon  
  
was revealed to be...  
  
"DIGLETT!" exclaimed Porygon, "What are you doing here!?!"  
  
"I was sick of doing nothing all day but gardening," explained Diglett, "So  
  
I stowed  
  
away."  
  
"Fine," said Ross before throwing another pokeball at Grimer. This one  
  
proved to be  
  
empty and easily captured Grimer.  
  
"OOF!" shouted Porygon as he was hit from behind by the still fighting  
  
electric  
  
pokemon.  
  
Ross pulled out his bone weapon and said, "Stand back." Graveler, Diglett,  
  
and Porygon  
  
stepped back from the wrestling pokemon.  
  
Winding up, Ross threw the bone at the two pokemon. The bone bounced off  
  
Electabuzz's head, nailed Tenroo's adam's apple, and sailed back into Ross's  
  
hand.  
  
Exhausted by the fight with each other, Electabuzz and Tenroo fainted and  
  
were easily  
  
caught. Ross was gathering up the pokemon when Ash and company showed up with  
  
Ross's  
  
psychic pokemon.  
  
"You okay?" asked Brock.  
  
"I'm fine,"stated Ross, "I managed to catch a Grimer along with the two  
  
electric  
  
pokemon."  
  
"Impressive," commented Todd.  
  
"HELP ME!" yelled a small voice, too small for the location to be  
  
pin-pointed, "Hot  
  
water, HOT WATER!"  
  
"Hear that?" asked Misty, "A Pikablu!"  
  
"Where's it hiding?" asked Todd, eager for a nice close-up of a Pikablu.  
  
Ross ran over and shut off the only water boiler in the room. Brock caught  
  
on and ran  
  
over to a drain control. Brock turned the handle until the hot water was  
  
replaced by the cool sea  
  
water from outside.  
  
"WHEW!" called the voice, splashing in the fresh water, "This is MUCH  
  
better!"  
  
Misty walked over to a ladder and climbed it to the top of the water tank.  
  
"Well hello there," Misty said into the tank, "Are you going to come out of  
  
there or not?"  
  
A blue blob climbed onto Misty's shoulders. Misty just smiled and worked  
  
her way  
  
down the ladder.  
  
"Looks like you finally got that Pikablu you wanted since they've been  
  
discovered,"  
  
commented Ash when Misty had both feet on the floor.  
  
"Maybe," replied Misty, scratching Pikablu behind the right ear. Pikablu  
  
clearly liked  
  
this, as he cooed happily.  
  
"I don't think that there are any 'maybes' about it," mentioned Todd.  
  
"Well MAY-BE I should get out of this place before the local gym closes,"  
  
suggested  
  
Ross.  
  
"Bye," called Ash after the two silhouettes. Chapter 106-The 'Loser' Leader  
  
"Okay, Ross Jacobsen," stated the receptionist after reading Ross's name on  
  
the sign-in  
  
sheet, "You'll be up in a little while. Have some evolution candy."  
  
Ross saw a large bowl full of wrapped candies on a corner table with some  
  
magazines.  
  
Ross took a half-dozen candies and stuffed them into his pocket.  
  
Two plaques adorned the wall. Both of the electric gym leaders.  
  
One read, "Lieutenant John Surge, Currently re-enlisted in the Army."  
  
The other read, "Thundra Surge, Daughter of Lieutenant Surge, Assumed  
  
leadership of  
  
Gringe gym on March 10, 2001."  
  
'This is still an electric gym,' thought Ross, 'Except it has a fairly new  
  
leader. I doubt  
  
there's a soil floor in there, so Diglett's out of the question.'  
  
"Ross Jacobsen!" called the receptionist. Ross walked over to the window  
  
and the  
  
receptionist said, "You're up."  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"This will be a 4 on 4 battle," explained the young woman in Army  
  
camouflage,  
  
obviously Thundra Surge.  
  
"Fine by me," stated Ross, "I'll start with Graveler, GO!"  
  
Graveler emerged and held his hands above his head.  
  
"Electrode," called Thundra, throwing a pokeball, "I choose you!"  
  
Out of Thundra's pokeball came...an oversized, upside-down pokeball. The  
  
odd pokeball  
  
buzzed and rolled up to it's opponent.  
  
"That's either a very weird pokemon," reported Graveler, "Or a possessed  
  
pokeball."  
  
Ross just smiled and said, "Keep your distance, use rock slide!"  
  
"Thunder bolt!" called Thundra.  
  
Electrode tried to electrocute Graveler, but the part-ground pokemon wasn't  
  
affected.  
  
Graveler retaliated by coughing up three rocks and rolled all of them at  
  
Electrode. The metal  
  
ball was knocked back and dented by the rocks.  
  
"Tackle!" called Thundra.  
  
"Rock throw," stated Ross.  
  
Electrode rolled into Graveler, but didn't hit very hard. Graveler coughed  
  
up another  
  
rock and knocked Electrode into a wall with it. Electrode was in bad shape and  
  
had to be called  
  
back by Thundra.  
  
"Magneton, GO!" summoned Thundra, "Sonicboom!"  
  
A group of three Magnemites appeared and a large gust knocked Graveler of  
  
his feet.  
  
Graveler stood back up and tackled a Magnemite into a wall, making it faint.  
  
"Thunder ring!" called Thundra.  
  
The two remaining Magnemites encircled Graveler, generating a ring of  
  
electricity  
  
around him. Working their way closer, the Magnemites' electricity ring became  
  
more intense  
  
and smaller.  
  
"Earthquake!" called Ross.  
  
Graveler started to vibrate, but was hit hard by the unusual attack.  
  
Graveler was left  
  
paralyzed and defenseless.  
  
"Graveler, return," called Ross, holding up Graveler's pokeball, "Onix, GO!  
  
Bind  
  
attack!"  
  
The rock snake appeared and let out a rafter shaking roar.  
  
"Use agility to avoid getting caught!" shouted Thundra over the roar.  
  
The two Magnemites apparently didn't hear Thundra and Onix easily caught  
  
both of the  
  
remaining Magnemites.  
  
"RETURN!" ordered Thundra, holding up a pokeball, "Go Tenroo!"  
  
The familiar long-necked pokemon appeared with an angry look on its face.  
  
"Rock throw!" called Ross.  
  
"Thunder butt!" ordered Thundra.  
  
Tenroo ran after Onix and rammed into him with an electric-covered head.  
  
Onix barely  
  
even felt the attack as he extended to his full height. Onix coughed a rock  
  
right onto the slightly  
  
dazed Tenroo, pinning him.  
  
"Tenroo, return!" called Thundra, "Raichu, GO!"  
  
The orange electric rat appeared from the pokeball and was ready to fight.  
  
'That's a tough looking Raichu,' thought Ross, 'Onix might be too tired to  
  
beat it.'  
  
"Onix, return!" called Ross, "Go Haunter!"  
  
Haunter let out a loud laugh as Raichu looked on in terror.  
  
"Thunder bolt!" called Thundra.  
  
"Night shade!" retaliated Ross.  
  
Raichu charged up and shocked Haunter before getting clobbered by the night  
  
shade.  
  
"Now a confuse ray!" called Ross.  
  
Raichu was hit by the purple ray and was left confused and playing 'This  
  
Little Piggy.'  
  
"This little piggy stayed home," muttered Raichu, holding one of his toes.  
  
Haunter laughed at this turn of events and licked Raichu, paralyzing it.  
  
Thundra looked  
  
on and couldn't believe what she was witnessing.  
  
"Raichu, return," called Thundra, "I can't believe that I lost AGAIN!  
  
That's the tenth  
  
time TODAY!"  
  
Haunter looked on in pity while Thundra pulled a badge out of her pocket.  
  
"Here's your badge!" stated Thundra, tossing a metal lightning bolt to  
  
Ross, "Now get  
  
out of here!" Thundra turned and ran through another door.  
  
"Come on Haunter," said Ross, "I think she wants to be alone."  
  
Haunter looked longingly at the door before entering his pokeball. Chapter 107-TR After the Zapdos  
  
At the pokemon center, Ross checked in on the Zapdos, healed his pokemon,  
  
and  
  
munched on a light dinner. About an hour later, Ash and company walked in and  
  
saw Ross  
  
alone in the training room.  
  
"What on earth is he doing?" asked Misty, watching Ross practice a cyclone  
  
kick.  
  
"I think a cyclone kick," answered Brock. Ross stopped while Hitmonlee  
  
talked to him.  
  
"I can see THAT!" Misty hissed back, "But how is he doing it?"  
  
"Why don't you just ask him?" suggested Todd as he took more pictures of  
  
Ross doing  
  
another cyclone kick.  
  
"HEY ROSS!" shouted Ash.  
  
The sudden shout threw off Ross's concentration and sent him crashing onto  
  
the target  
  
dummy. Everyone laughed as Ross struggled to get back up.  
  
"What are you doing here?" asked Ross, feeling like someone just pulled  
  
down his pants.  
  
"We lost track of time and now its too late to go back to Indigo tonight,"  
  
explained Ash.  
  
"What were you doing?" asked Misty.  
  
"Training my pokemon," stated Ross.  
  
Todd said, "Yes, but..."  
  
BOOM!  
  
The explosion rang from the main entrance and everyone ran out to the hall  
  
to see what  
  
was wrong. From his angle, Ross could see a large hole in the wall with a KO'd  
  
Voltorb, a boy  
  
and girl in Team Rocket uniforms, and a very cranky Mankey.  
  
"Team ROCKET. Blast off at the speed of LIGHT!" ordered the female Rocket.  
  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" instructed the male Rocket.  
  
"MANK!" shouted a Mankey.  
  
"What do you want?" asked Nurse Joy.  
  
"We want the Zapdos and eggs!" claimed the male Rocket.  
  
"They don't belong to you!" defended Joy.  
  
"And who do they belong to?" asked the female Rocket.  
  
"ME!" proclaimed Ross, stepping out of the hallway shadow.  
  
Mankey leaped to the attack, but Ross caught his right fore and back paws  
  
and used  
  
seismic toss to send him the other way. Mankey collided into a support pillar  
  
and fainted.  
  
"You knocked out our mascot!" proclaimed the male Rocket, "Cubone, GO!"  
  
"Sandshrew, GO!" ordered the second Rocket. Both pokemon were clearly  
  
untrained  
  
"Wartortle, Vaporeon, GO!" called Ross, throwing two pokeballs,  
  
"Bubblebeam!"  
  
The TR pokemon didn't stand a chance and were soon too weak to battle.  
  
"RUN FOR IT!" yelled the TR girl.  
  
The two trainers got to the hole in the wall when a Magnemite floated in  
  
the way,  
  
gathering electricity.  
  
"I'm no psychic," explained the TR boy, "But I can foresee pain."  
  
The Magnemite shocked TR into paralysis and floated over to Ross.  
  
"Looks like it wants to be with you," pointed out Todd. Chapter 108-A New Day  
  
Ross and a Pikachu was crawling through some air ducts in very dirty brown  
  
clothes.  
  
Eventually, they reached a room with Ricky and Aroduc talking.  
  
"I'm telling you that we should replace all of the gym leaders NOW!"  
  
complained  
  
Aroduc, "Before they get a chance to revolt."  
  
"I already beat them all once," stated Ricky, "And no one can get onto  
  
Indigo Plateau  
  
unless I give the word."  
  
"CREE~EE~EEK!" went the air duct.  
  
'Uh-oh,' thought Ross before the air duct collapsed, sending Ross crashing  
  
to the floor.  
  
"Big uh-oh," whispered the Pikachu still in the overhead air duct.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
The lights clicked on and Nurse Joy was at the switch saying, "Okay  
  
everyone, time to  
  
get up!"  
  
Everyone moaned and Ross forced himself to sit up. Ross thumped his head  
  
on the bunk  
  
above him. "Ow," said Ross.  
  
"I don't think that these things like you," joked Ash's Pikachu.  
  
"I know," muttered Ross, rubbing his head. Ross climbed out of his bunk  
  
and walked for  
  
the restroom while the other trainers were still tossing in their sleep.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Pikachu and Ross were about halfway through breakfast when Ash, Brock,  
  
Misty, and  
  
Todd walked in.  
  
"Well," commented Pikachu, "Look what the Persian dragged in."  
  
"Don't start with me Pikachu," warned Ash, "It's too early in the morning."  
  
"Rough night?" asked Ross.  
  
"You might say that," answered Brock.  
  
"Where's my coffee?" asked Misty.  
  
The group just sat down when an annoying voice interrupted them.  
  
"Who's the loser crew?" asked Adam.  
  
"LOSERS!?!" shouted Misty.  
  
"What do you want Adam?" asked Ross.  
  
"A pokemon battle," stated the younger brother.  
  
"Why should I? I'm eating my breakfast right now," reminded Ross as he  
  
took a bite.  
  
"Then I'll battle one of your chump pals," stated Adam, "Unless you're all  
  
too chicken."  
  
Adam started to make chicken sounds and walk around like one. This  
  
infuriated Misty  
  
(Especially since she hadn't had her coffee yet.), and she accepted the  
  
challenge.  
  
The pair walked outside and started the battle. Everyone else watched from  
  
the window  
  
as Misty's Golduck knocked Adam's Weepinbell and self confidence down to size.  
  
Adam's Diglett and Dodrio also suffered the same fate against Misty's  
  
Seadra and  
  
Starmie. Angry, Adam tossed some cash into Misty's face and marched inside  
  
where Ross was  
  
finishing up.  
  
"Now that I'm warmed up bro, I'll take YOU on," stated Adam.  
  
"If it'll get you off my case for the day," confessed Ross, gulping down  
  
the last of his  
  
orange juice. Chapter 109-Down and Dirty in Gringe  
  
"2 on 2," stated Adam, "Pokeball, GO!"  
  
"Magnemite, GO!" called Ross.  
  
A Pidgeotto appeared to battle Magnemite.  
  
"Thunder shock!" called Ross.  
  
"Gust!" ordered Adam.  
  
Electricity flew from Magnemite and injured Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto wasn't  
  
paralyzed  
  
though and flapped its wings, sending all sorts of junk into Magnemite.  
  
"Swift!" called Ross.  
  
"Quick attack!" stated Adam. Pidgeotto was hit by several stars and fell  
  
out of the sky.  
  
"Finish it with a thunder wave!" instructed Ross.  
  
Pidgeotto started to flap its wings in an attempt to take to the skies  
  
again when it was  
  
paralyzed by the waves of electricity.  
  
"Pidgeotto, return!" called Adam, "Growlithe, GO!"  
  
A small puppy appeared, ready to fight. Ross decided against continuing  
  
the battle with  
  
Magnemite and sent out Poliwag in its place.  
  
"Water gun!" ordered Ross.  
  
"Bite!" yelled Adam.  
  
Growlithe wound up drinking to much water and coughed as it struggled to  
  
regain its  
  
bearings.  
  
"Leer!" ordered Adam.  
  
"Hypnosis!" stated Ross.  
  
Growlithe looked up and fell asleep leering into Poliwag's spinning spiral.  
  
"Growlithe, return!" ordered Adam. "Your cash," identified Adam, throwing  
  
money  
  
onto the ground.  
  
Ross waited until Adam had disappeared into the pokemon center before  
  
picking up his  
  
winnings and going in after him.  
  
Misty was just finishing up a cup of coffee when Ross walked back to the  
  
table with a  
  
potion from the front desk.  
  
"I just don't see how you two can be brothers," stated Brock.  
  
"Sometimes it baffles me too," answered Ross, applying a potion to  
  
Magnemite. Chapter 110-Two New Pokemon  
  
After breakfast, Ash and company left for home while Ross started down the  
  
road to  
  
Saffron City, home of the grass pokemon gym. The morning walk was the same as  
  
always. A  
  
few pokemon battles, some training exercises, and the break every hour or so.  
  
It was a basic day  
  
until...  
  
"Hmm," spoke a bush near the path, "Berries."  
  
"Will you be quiet?" hissed another voice, "He's coming!"  
  
Since Ross was the only one he could see, Ross figured that it was a lousy  
  
TR trap. Ross  
  
checked his map and noticed that the road curved back around a forest.  
  
'Going through the forest would mean that I could avoid TR, get to Saffron  
  
by nightfall,  
  
and maybe even find some more pokemon!' thought Ross.  
  
So he walked into the forest, looking and listening for pokemon.  
  
"WOW!" exclaimed a voice, "A Rhydon skeleton! This must be my lucky day!"  
  
Ross looked to his right and saw a Cubone looking through pieces of a large  
  
skeleton.  
  
Ross sent out Ivysaur to attack the Cubone as he picked up the skull and  
  
right-hind leg bone.  
  
"This will be a nice helmet," mentioned Cubone while Ivysaur and Ross took  
  
a strategic  
  
position. Cubone changed helmets and took a few practice swings, still facing  
  
away from Ross  
  
and Ivysaur.  
  
"Defend yourself or be captured!" offered Ivysaur. Cubone turned around  
  
and stood  
  
ready to battle.  
  
"Vine whip," ordered Ross.  
  
Ivysaur swung its long vines around Cubone, restraining it. Ivysaur swung  
  
Cubone into a  
  
couple trees before dropping it on its old helmet. The old helmet broke in two  
  
pieces while  
  
Cubone was perfectly safe in its new one.  
  
"Now mega drain!" called Ross.  
  
Energy began to flow in a constant stream from Cubone to Ivysaur. Cubone  
  
managed to  
  
escape the stream by running behind a tree. Cubone stepped into the open and  
  
charged Ivysaur,  
  
bone raised.  
  
"Razor leaf!" instructed Ross.  
  
Sharp leaves flew from Ivysaur and created deep scratches in Cubone's new  
  
helmet.  
  
Cubone stopped charging and grew angry from the gashes in him and his helmet.  
  
Cubone's eyes  
  
started to glow red.  
  
'Cubone's mad' thought Ross.  
  
Cubone started to thrash at Ivysaur. Ross wasn't sure how to stop it until  
  
Ivysaur  
  
released his sleep powder. Both pokemon were caught in the powder and fell fast  
  
asleep.  
  
Throwing a pokeball at Cubone, Ross captured Cubone and called back Ivysaur.  
  
Ross didn't find any other pokemon in that forest. A Mankey found HIM, and  
  
it wasn't  
  
too happy. Unable to call out any of his pokemon, Ross proceeded to battle the  
  
Mankey himself.  
  
"Man-KEY!" yelled the fighting pokemon, enraged over the psychic attacks  
  
launched at  
  
him.  
  
Ross used telekinesis to slam the Mankey between rocks and trees.  
  
Eventually, Mankey  
  
managed to grab hold of a rock, but it didn't stop Ross's attack. The Mankey  
  
wound up  
  
dragging along the rock and became a Mankey sandwich when it was slammed into a  
  
tree.  
  
Mankey was so out of it, that it didn't even know what pokemon it was and tried  
  
to fly away!  
  
Mankey fell to the ground and sat there for a while, sucking its thumb. Ross  
  
threw a pokeball  
  
and captured Mankey.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Back on the road...  
  
"I thought you said he was coming!" stated a voice.  
  
"I don't understand," stated a catty voice, "I saw him up the road."  
  
Footsteps could be heard approaching.  
  
"It's about time," answered a third voice, "Spring the trap!"  
  
The first figure pushed a button and a cage dropped onto the unsuspecting  
  
victim.  
  
"We've got you now Ross!" proclaimed the Meowth running out of his hiding  
  
place,  
  
"Now hand over the poke..."  
  
"PRIME-ape!" screamed a large white gorilla in the cage. Several other  
  
Primeapes  
  
around the cage turned to face Meowth with anger in their eyes.  
  
(Due to the excessive amount of violence in this scene, I was forced to  
  
exclude it for  
  
younger readers. We now will skip ahead to Ross entering Saffron City.) Chapter 111-Saffron City  
  
'Team Rocket just doesn't ever seem to be able to catch a break,' thought  
  
Ross,  
  
remembering how beaten up they were on the side of the road.  
  
Ross walked down the street, looking for the pokemon center.  
  
'What's that smell?' wondered Ross, 'Is that... perfume?"  
  
Following the smell, Ross found a large perfume store next to the pokemon  
  
gym.  
  
Shrugging it off, Ross asked a trainer with shoulder-length green hair in front  
  
of the gym for  
  
directions to the pokemon center.  
  
The trainer smiled, pointed down the street, and said, "It's a block down  
  
that way and to  
  
the right. You can't miss it."  
  
"Thanks," said Ross, walking in the direction indicated.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
After healing his pokemon at the pokemon center, Ross ran back to the gym,  
  
hoping that  
  
he wouldn't have to wait until tomorrow. When Ross got there, he still had 10  
  
minutes before it  
  
would close. A girl at the front desk said that the leader, Erika, was in Arena  
  
#2.  
  
"Thanks!" called Ross as he hurried down the hall. The hall echoed with  
  
his pounding  
  
footsteps. Ross eventually found the door labeled "Arena #2" and stepped  
  
inside.  
  
Empty. No one was in the gym except for Ross. Disappointed, Ross sat down  
  
on the  
  
bench for a while to catch his breath.  
  
"What are you doing here?" asked a voice. Ross looked up and saw the  
  
green-haired girl  
  
he asked earlier that day for directions.  
  
"Well, after I healed my pokemon at the pokemon center, I ran back here to  
  
try and battle  
  
the gym leader today," explained Ross, "I got here in time and ran here since  
  
this is where I was  
  
told the leader was."  
  
"Oh," commented the girl.  
  
"And when I got here, the gym leader was gone," stated Ross.  
  
"How terrible," commented the girl, "Would you happen to have a leaf stone  
  
on you?"  
  
"Too many in fact," said Ross. Opening his backpack, Ross removed a leaf  
  
stone.  
  
"Here, I have another dozen of them in my account."  
  
"Thank you," said the girl taking the green stone. Holding out her hand,  
  
the girl said,  
  
"My name is Michelle."  
  
"Mine's Ross," stated Ross, shaking her hand.  
  
"Erika is usually working in the garden," commented Michelle, "She might  
  
still be there,  
  
follow me."  
  
Michelle walked out the door with Ross following her. Michelle led Ross  
  
down several  
  
halls until she finally stopped in front of a bright green door labeled  
  
"GARDEN." Michelle  
  
opened the door and let Ross in.  
  
"Hello," greeted a Vileplume.  
  
"Hello there Smiley," stated Michelle, "Seen mom?"  
  
'Mom?' wondered Ross, 'I thought we were looking for Erika.'  
  
Vileplume nodded and led the two humans through the garden to another  
  
green-haired  
  
woman that was kneeling over a flowerbed.  
  
"Hey mom," greeted Michelle, "This is Ross. He came here to battle you."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry," apologized the gardener, "I'm Erika, I came here a little  
  
early to get  
  
some gardening done."  
  
"It's alright," forgave Ross.  
  
"Michelle, why don't you call dad and tell him that we'll be a little late  
  
for dinner,"  
  
suggested Erika.  
  
"Okay mom," answered Michelle, walking off to the door.  
  
'So,' figured Ross, 'Erika is Michelle's mother.'  
  
"We can battle over here," explained Erika, leading Ross over to a  
  
clearing. "3 on 3,  
  
boundary rules."  
  
"Okay," agreed Ross, selecting his first pokemon. Erika threw out her  
  
first pokeball. As  
  
did Ross.  
  
"Leaf-e-ON!" called Erika's pokemon.  
  
"MOL-tres," proclaimed Ross's.  
  
"Start out with a sand attack!" ordered Erika.  
  
"Flamethrower," summoned Ross.  
  
Leafeon launched a wave of sand at Moltres as Moltres shot fire from its  
  
beak. The  
  
intense heat melted the sand, which fell to earth as shards of glass, and  
  
ignited Leafeon. Leafeon  
  
screamed in pain as it rolled in an attempt to extinguish the fire. Erika  
  
tossed a bucket of water  
  
onto Leafeon and put out the fire before calling her next move.  
  
"Razor leaf."  
  
"Fire spin!" called Ross.  
  
Moltres started to fly around Leafeon, leaving a trail of flames behind it.  
  
Leafeon tried to  
  
hit its target, but the flames incinerated the leaves. Leafeon was soon dizzy  
  
and surrounded by a  
  
wall of flame.  
  
"Leafeon, return!" called Erika, holding Leafeon's pokeball, "Venusaur,  
  
GO!"  
  
A large green pokemon with a flower on its back growled as it took the  
  
field.  
  
"Another fire spin!" instructed Ross.  
  
"Ready the solar beam!" called Erika.  
  
Venusaur began to glow as Moltres flew around it and trapped Venusaur in a  
  
wall of  
  
flame. Venusaur stopped glowing just as the fire spin started to wear off.  
  
"Drill peck," called Ross.  
  
"NOW!" shouted Erika.  
  
Venusaur's flower glowed as a strange beam of light hit Moltres and made it  
  
faint.  
  
"Moltres, return!" shouted Ross, "Articuno, GO! Make a BLIZZARD!"  
  
"Growth!" called Erika.  
  
Venusaur grew slightly larger before being hit by immense cold and icicles.  
  
Venusaur  
  
was obviously reeling in pain.  
  
"Venusaur, RETURN!" called Erika, "Go Exeggcutor!"  
  
A large walking coconut tree stepped out, slightly off balance.  
  
"Ice beam!" called Ross.  
  
"Hypnosis!" retaliated Erika.  
  
Exeggcutor's eyes started to glow and everyone but Articuno looked away.  
  
Articuno  
  
slowly declined until it finally fell fast asleep.  
  
"Articuno, return!" ordered Ross, "Go Haunter, Night shade!"  
  
"Barrage," ordered Erika.  
  
The attacking coconuts went right through Haunter before the room was  
  
plunged into  
  
darkness for a few seconds. When the lights came back on, Exeggcutor was in  
  
pain.  
  
"Confuse ray!" called Ross.  
  
Haunter fired a purple ray of light that confused Exeggcutor. Uncertain of  
  
what to do,  
  
Exeggcutor ran off to the stands and out of bounds.  
  
"Exeggcutor, return!" called Erika, "Looks like you beat me."  
  
Erika moved a nearby potted plant and picked up a badge resembling a tulip.  
  
She then  
  
walked over to Ross and handed him his new badge.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Looks like the Zapdos have finally settled in," commented Professor Oak,  
  
watching the  
  
Zapdos at Indigo Plateau via video phone.  
  
"And since the incubation period is so much shorter than other birds,"  
  
started Lorelei,  
  
"They should be hatching in a couple days or so."  
  
"I can't wait to see those baby Zapdos hatch," proclaimed Oak before having  
  
another  
  
coughing fit.  
  
"Are you okay?" asked Ash, worried about his friend.  
  
"I'm fine," claimed Oak, "I take it that Todd is going to be taking  
  
pictures of the Zapdos  
  
when they hatch."  
  
"You better believe it!" stated Todd. Chapter 112-On the Road to Celadon City  
  
The next morning, Ross was eager to get to Celadon City. The streets were  
  
empty except for a few early risers. Ross was soon on the road that would take  
  
him to Celadon by lunch. Ross encountered and beat 3 trainers before spotting a  
  
wild yellow shrew digging a hole.  
  
"Staryu, GO!" called Ross, "Water gun!"  
  
The yellow shrew was blasted with water before trying charging at Staryu.  
  
"Harden!" stated Ross.  
  
Staryu flashed and developed a hard coat. Sandshrew ran up and swung a  
  
right claw in a slash. Sandshrew was unable to make a mark in the hard Staryu.  
  
"Now a spinning tackle!" called Ross.  
  
Staryu started to spin until it was impossible see clearly. Staryu then  
  
ran, flew, whatever, at the shrew. The hard Staryu acted like a saw blade and  
  
made a gapping wound in the poor ground pokemon.  
  
"Pokeball, GO!" shouted Ross, throwing a red-white orb at the exhausted  
  
pokemon. The Sandshrew shook once, twice, three times, and the pokemon was  
  
captured.  
  
"Yes," said Ross to himself, "Sandshrew will come in handy against the  
  
poison pokemon of the Celadon gym."  
  
Ross collected Staryu and Sandshrew and continued on to battle several  
  
other trainers.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"How long will they being staying here?" asked Aroduc, "It takes a lot of  
  
work to keep this gym running right. I don't need more bodies to keep track  
  
of."  
  
"We just need you to store some of the loot while the cops search the game  
  
corner," explained Giovanni, "We're talking an occasional extra squad and stuff  
  
in storage for three days. We have everything packed for the transfer and  
  
enough spare vehicles to make the move in under 2 hours."  
  
"Fine!" surrendered Aroduc, "I give up, make the move during the lunch time  
  
pause."  
  
Giovanni checked his watch and saw it was only 10:00 AM. "Okay," agreed  
  
Giovanni, "We'll start the move at 11:25." Chapter 113-Celadon Gym  
  
Ross was glad when he walked into town. Finding the pokemon center in  
  
Celadon was much easier than in its sister city, Saffron. Ross breezed through  
  
the healing process fairly quickly and it was half past eleven when Ross was  
  
leaving for the poisonous pokemon gym.  
  
It was bright outside so Ross pulled down the brim of his hat and put on  
  
some $5 sunglasses. Ross walked until he reached the pokemon gym.  
  
Several moving vans were in the few parking spaces, unloading plain  
  
cardboard boxes with different colored marks on them.  
  
"You here to help?" asked a mover in one of the vans. Ross opened his  
  
mouth to speak but was shoved a box and told to follow him.  
  
'What the hay," figured Ross, 'It won't kill me to be nice.' Ross followed  
  
the man as he led the way into the gym.  
  
"What a lousy job," complained the mover, "I thought that working here  
  
would bring me nothing but action."  
  
'Action?' thought Ross, 'As a mover? Something's screwy around here.'  
  
"All I've done so far is haul goods and hand out assignments," stated the  
  
mover, "I tell you, those loaded paper-pushers can kiss my-"  
  
"Take this stuff into the main gym's storage," stated a man. Ross looked  
  
up and saw Giovanni checking the color on his box. "This goes in here," stated  
  
Giovanni, tapping on a door.  
  
Ross was awe-struck in seeing Giovanni, but opened the door anyway. Inside  
  
was several other boxes, some open, holding pokeballs, others closed. Several  
  
men and women in Team Rocket uniforms were shifting through the boxes,  
  
"Put that with the others," ordered a large burly man, pointing at a stack  
  
of boxes.  
  
Ross set the box down as he was told and noticed that the pokeballs were  
  
labeled with names like Dratini, Alfamazoo, Clefairy, Pikablu, and the like.  
  
'All rare pokemon,' thought Ross, 'I think that I might be in trouble.'  
  
"Little HELP!" shouted a man, trying to stabilize a wobbling tower of  
  
boxes. While everyone else ran to help the man, Ross snuck out of the room and  
  
down the hall.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Are you almost done yet?" asked Aroduc, anxious to get the transfer over.  
  
"Just one more van load and we're gone," explained Giovanni.  
  
"Good," stated Aroduc, "I've done too much work establishing a position  
  
here for it to be blown."  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
THUD!  
  
A door slammed shut down the hall, cloaked by the dark shadows.  
  
"At least this is almost over," pointed out a voice.  
  
'And I might get caught,' thought Ross, working his way backwards.  
  
There didn't seem to be a way out when Ross saw a nearby air duct. Ross  
  
closed his eyes and focused his mind.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"What was that flash?" asked the first Rocket.  
  
"Just someone using a door," answered a second Rocket.  
  
Ross watched as the pair of Rockets walked down the hall and out of sight.  
  
"Talk about CLOSE!" stated the tiny Ross as he walked down the large metal  
  
chamber, footsteps booming like thunder in his small ears. "Maybe shrinking  
  
into here WASN'T such a good idea," he muttered, "At least no one can hear me."  
  
It took Ross two times through "I was 99 miles from home," or an hour to  
  
find the main gym's door at his diminished size. Ross stuck out his head and  
  
didn't see anyone, approaching, leaving, or otherwise.  
  
"Time to get out of this tin can," stated Ross, closing his eyes again.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"So," asked Aroduc, "What's your name wimp?"  
  
"Michael McIntyre," claimed the gruff voice.  
  
"Well Mikey," started Aroduc, "This will be a 4 on 4 pokemon battle."  
  
"Alright," stated 'Mikey,' "Who do you choose first?"  
  
"Muk," stated Aroduc, throwing a pokeball, "Get ready for battle."  
  
A large pile of purple sludge appeared and raised a dripping right hand.  
  
"Kadabra, GO!" called Michael.  
  
"Pound," called Aroduc.  
  
"Psybeam,"ordered Michael.  
  
A beam of white light hit Muk, reducing it into an unconscious blob.  
  
"Muk, return," called Aroduc, "Golbat, GO! Leech life!"  
  
The purple bat flew at and sank its fangs into Kadabra's body, draining its  
  
energy.  
  
"Confusion!" shouted Michael.  
  
"Confuse ray!" commanded Aroduc.  
  
Kadabra was hit first by the quick bat and started to dance ballet.  
  
"Kadabra, return," stated Michael, "Go Electabuzz, thunder punch!"  
  
"Bite!" said Aroduc.  
  
Golbat flew at Electabuzz mouth open to attack. Electabuzz swung its fists  
  
and clobbered Golbat with thunder punch after thunder punch. Golbat was  
  
eventually cornered and was called back.  
  
"Weezing, GO!" shouted Aroduc, "Smoke screen."  
  
"Thunder shock," requested Michael.  
  
The arena filled with smoke, making trainer intervention impossible. When  
  
the smoke screen cleared, Weezing was doing that and Electabuzz was sick.  
  
"Electabuzz, return!" called Michael, "Mr. Mime, confusion!"  
  
The clown ran out and made Weezing fly between the walls a few times before  
  
it fainted. Aroduc replaced Weezing with a cobra.  
  
'An Arbok!?!' thought Michael, 'I HATE snakes!'  
  
"Glare," stated Aroduc.  
  
"Psychic," instructed Michael.  
  
Arbok glared at Mr. Mime, paralyzing him from attacking or defending.  
  
Michael called him back and sent out his last pokemon of the battle.  
  
"Cubone, GO!" called Michael, "Bonemerang!"  
  
"Leer," instructed Aroduc.  
  
Cubone quickly wound up and threw his bone, knocking some sense into Arbok  
  
as he watched the bone hit him the first time. The bone curved around and hit  
  
Arbok in the back of the head on its way back.  
  
"Bite," stated Aroduc as Cubone caught his bone.  
  
"Bone club."  
  
Arbok slithered up to Cubone, opened his mouth, and tried to eat Cubone's  
  
skull helmet. Cubone swung his club into Arbok's side, launching him into  
  
Aroduc.  
  
"Chararar-bok?" asked the Arbok weakly.  
  
"Get off of me!" commanded Aroduc, throwing Arbok at Cubone.  
  
"Look OUT!" warned Michael as Arbok flew at Cubone.  
  
Cubone jumped out of the way in time and the snake crashed into Michael,  
  
knocking off his hat and sunglasses and revealing Ross's face. With the  
  
unconscious snake keeping Aroduc from seeing his face clearly, Ross snatched his  
  
glasses and tried to put them on.  
  
"Arbok, return," called Aroduc, "I guess you beat me Michael."  
  
Ross adjusted his glasses so they were on straight and slapped his cap on  
  
sideways. Aroduc walked over and slapped the wall with his fist. The wall  
  
opened and Aroduc pulled out a badge shaped like a skull-and-crossbones for  
  
Ross.  
  
"Here you go," said Aroduc, yielding the badge, "Now get out."  
  
Ross quickly stepped out of the arena. Chapter 114-Bridge Bike Gang  
  
Ross groaned as he sat up on the cot. After lunch and informing the cops  
  
about Team Rocket, Ross had gone on a shopping spree at the department store and  
  
trained the rest of the day away. Today, he had to ride his bike across the  
  
10-mile bridge to the Sunny Town Normal- type Pokemon Gym.  
  
After Ross cycled through the restroom, he grabbed some food, jogged out  
  
the door, and mounted his bike.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"I still don't understand how Michael found out," stated Aroduc, watching a  
  
video tape of Ross in a police station.  
  
"I don't think that's his real name," chimed in another Rocket, "I saw a  
  
video from Cerulean of a similar person who dropped off a letter signed  
  
'Dataeater.' That letter wrecked our robbery at the convention."  
  
At that moment, Mike Grahm and Nick Crosby walked in and saw the screen.  
  
Mike asked, "Where'd you get the footage of Ross?"  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Whew," sighed Ross as he sat down on a bench, "What a work-out." Ross had  
  
ridden the entire morning and was only about half-way across the bridge. He had  
  
stopped at a break spot with a hot-dog vendor for lunch.  
  
The pokemon were eating with him, enjoying the fresh air. His bike was  
  
propped up next to Ross. And the vendor was sorting out the bills.  
  
"This is pretty good," proclaimed Pikablu, chewing on his end of a hot- dog.  
  
"I'll say," agreed Pikachu, eating the other half.  
  
"I'm happy just to be able to swim in deep water again," commented  
  
Gyarados, swimming in the bay.  
  
Suddenly, the vendor closed up shop and high-tailed it towards Celadon.  
  
"What's going on?" asked Mew when a whirring sound was heard coming from  
  
Sunny Town. A flag and group of bicycles appeared over the horizon on the  
  
bridge.  
  
"Uh-oh," stated Ross.  
  
"Everyone into the pokeballs!" exclaimed Tenroo. All of Ross's pokemon  
  
jumped into their pokeball while Ross gulped down the rest of his meal and  
  
hopped onto his bike.  
  
The squad of seventeen bicycles surrounded Ross and blocked his exit. The  
  
apparent leader was a female riding on a Zapdos designed bicycle.  
  
"Who do you think you are?" asked the snide leader.  
  
"Just a trainer on his way to the Sunny Town gym?" asked Ross.  
  
"I don't think so," answered the leader, "Not through our turf without a  
  
pokemon battle."  
  
"I thought this bridge was public property," stated Ross.  
  
"Yeah," answered one of the other bikers, "And we're the public!"  
  
"If you want a pokemon battle," answered Ross, "Then so be it. 2 on 2."  
  
"I'll send you home crying," claimed the leader, pulling out a pokeball, "I  
  
choose you Cloyster! Crush this wimp!"  
  
A large shell with a vertical crack down the middle appeared. The bikers  
  
started chanting the leader's name, "Ty-RA, Ty-RA, Ty-RA."  
  
"Hitmonlee, GO!" called Ross.  
  
Several of the bikers were surprised by the sight of the tan pokemon. The  
  
leader wasn't frightened though.  
  
"Spike cannon!" called Tyra.  
  
"Somersault kick!" summoned Ross.  
  
Cloyster shot several spikes at Hitmonlee, missing the air-borne pokemon by  
  
several feet. Hitmonlee flipped forward several times before slamming a foot  
  
onto the crack, forcing it open.  
  
"Now a mega kick to the inside!" called Ross.  
  
"Clamp it with your shell," said an eerily calm Tyra.  
  
Hitmonlee thrust his right foot into Cloyster's shell who started to pinch  
  
it. Hitmonlee called out in pain at the crushing attack.  
  
"Cyclone kick!" ordered Ross.  
  
Hitmonlee nodded and started to swing Cloyster around in a fast circle.  
  
Cloyster was losing his grip and about to do the same with its lunch. Cloyster  
  
finally flew off of Hitmonlee and crashed into a steel support girder. The  
  
tough Cloyster fainted on impact.  
  
Hitmonlee took a fighting stance for its next challenger, but collapsed in  
  
pain, holding his right ankle. Tyra and Ross called back their pokemon and sent  
  
out a new one.  
  
"Go-lem," stated Tyra's new pokemon.  
  
Ross's long blue serpent just roared from the side of the bridge.  
  
"What am I supposed to do?" Golem asked Tyra.  
  
"RUN AWAY!" answered the panicked bikers. Tyra called back Golem and  
  
started to peddle like mad with the rest of the biker gang to Sunny Town.  
  
Gyarados roared again and they peddled even faster.  
  
"They move fast for such little guys," stated Gyarados.  
  
Ross just laughed and put Gyarados back in his pokeball. Concerned about  
  
Hitmonlee, Ross called him back out. Hitmonlee appeared sitting on a bench and  
  
Ross felt his right leg.  
  
"I don't like this," stated Ross as he felt a curve in Hitmonlee's right  
  
leg, "I think it may be broken."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous!" argued Hitmonlee, standing up. Hitmonlee's right  
  
leg gave way and let him fall to the concrete.  
  
"I better get you to the pokemon center ASAP," stated Ross, helping  
  
Hitmonlee back on the bench. "Looks like you made the break worse when you  
  
tried to stand on it."  
  
Ross was right, instead of a gentle curve in Hitmonlee's leg, there was now  
  
a visible corner. "This is going to hurt at first," warned Ross, holding the  
  
leg segments around the break, "But it will reduce the pain later."  
  
"Like Nike says," started Hitmonlee.  
  
Ross smiled and finished, "Just do it." He jerked his hands in a quick  
  
motion and Hitmonlee howled in pain.  
  
When he stopped expressing his pain, Hitmonlee said, "Know that wasn't so  
  
bad."  
  
Smiling again, Ross put Hitmonlee back in his pokeball and started to cycle  
  
after the bike gang.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Shouldn't you go and confront your fear?" asked the black-haired man in a  
  
leather vest.  
  
"Chopper, would YOU want to try taking on a trained GYARADOS!?!" asked  
  
Tyra.  
  
"How bad can it be," argued Chopper, "It's trained, remember?"  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Ross was on the last mile of the bridge when storm clouds boomed overhead.  
  
'Now this could get nasty,' thought Ross as rain started to fall. He  
  
suddenly heard the whirring sound of several bicycles over the horizon.  
  
The bicycle gang had finally gotten over their scare and was after him in a  
  
wall formation. Ross wondered what to do when the road up ahead started to  
  
split.  
  
"A drawbridge," said Ross to the storm, "That will be me a little time  
  
before I encounter the bike gang."  
  
When the bridge was high enough to hide the bike gang from Ross's sight,  
  
Ross stopped and dismounted. Ross placed his bicycle into an item ball and  
  
pulled out another one.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"I thought that boat would never go by," commented a biker as the draw  
  
bridge slowly went down.  
  
"That kid should be waiting, just like us," pointed out Tyra.  
  
"Then where is he?" asked a girl on a bike.  
  
Sure enough, when the bridge went down, no one was waiting on the other  
  
side.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
'Finally,' thought Ross, when the cruise ship went by the bridge. Ross  
  
started to paddle under the bridge in his raft. Chapter 115-Hospital Hitmonlee  
  
Ross sat in the lobby, waiting for Nurse Joy to come out of the treatment  
  
room with news about Hitmonlee. Hitmonchan sat next to him, concerned about his  
  
friend.  
  
"Hitmonlee breaking a leg," commented Hitmonchan, "Is like me breaking my  
  
arm!"  
  
Hitmonchan was leaned against his lap and Ross was trying to cheer him up.  
  
"What's wrong Beavis?" asked a joking voice. Ross and Hitmonchan looked up  
  
to see Hitmonlee propped up on a stretcher. "You look like your best friend  
  
died."  
  
Hitmonchan jumped up and gave Hitmonlee a noogy with one of its  
  
boxing-glove hands. Ross just stood up and asked how Hitmonlee was doing.  
  
"He has a mild fracture in his right tumor," explained Nurse Joy.  
  
"Huh?" asked the Hitmons together.  
  
Seeing the confusion in the Hitmons faces, Nurse Joy translated in lament's  
  
terms. "Hitmonlee broke his leg," she explained, "He'll have to stay off it for  
  
about 12 days, meaning no battling."  
  
"A fighting pokemon that doesn't fight for 12 days!?!" exclaimed Hitmonlee,  
  
"I'll go stir crazy!!!"  
  
Ross inquired, "And after 12 days?"  
  
"If Hitmonlee's leg is healed, he'll be able to resume battling," stated  
  
Nurse Joy, "Worst case scenario, however unlikely, the leg would have to  
  
amputated."  
  
"ENGLISH doc," stated Hitmonchan.  
  
"The worst possible and least likely thing to happen would require  
  
Hitmonlee's leg to be chopped off," Ross plainly stated.  
  
Hitmonlee's eyes rolled to the back of its head as it fainted.  
  
"But I expect Hitmonlee to make a complete recovery," said Nurse Joy, "The  
  
best thing you could do is leave it at a proper pokemon medicine facility for  
  
the 12 days."  
  
"I have a few ideas of where that place might be," stated Ross.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
RING-RING-RING, RING-RING-RING, Phone call! Phone call!  
  
"Pallet Town Pokemon Center," answered the nurse, "Nurse Joy speaking."  
  
Ross's face appeared on the screen. "Hi Joy," said the flat Ross, "I was  
  
wondering if you could keep an eye on a Hitmonlee with a broken leg for a  
  
while."  
  
"How long?" asked the cautious Joy.  
  
"Just 12 days while the leg heals," answered Ross.  
  
"Okay," agreed Joy, "But I won't be able to exercise it, I've been busy  
  
here lately."  
  
"Thanks Joy," said Ross, "I'll have it transferred over and I'll talk to  
  
you in 12 days."  
  
"Got it. Bye Ross." Chapter 116-Confronting Chopper  
  
Ross was waiting for his turn in the gym to battle the leader. He had  
  
already sent Hitmonlee to Pallet Town and set a countdown clock in his pokedex.  
  
Ross was busy going through which pokemon to use.  
  
'Let's see,' thought Ross, 'Normal attacks don't hurt rock very well, and  
  
fighting attacks are excellent. I can use Graveler, Onix, Mankey, Hitmonchan,  
  
and Machoke. Hitmonlee would have been perfect.'  
  
"Ross!" called the gym leader. Ross looked up and the man said, "You're  
  
next."  
  
Ross stood up and was ready to fight. His opponent wore sunglasses, a pair  
  
of khaki pants, and a leather vest over his bare chest. A name tag on his vest  
  
read, 'Chopper.'  
  
"6 on 6!" proclaimed the Chopper.  
  
"Fine," agreed Ross, realizing that he still had one pokemon to choose.  
  
"Tauros, GO!" shouted Chopper. A bull pokemon appeared.  
  
"Machoke," called Ross, "I choose you!"  
  
"Tackle," stated Chopper.  
  
"Low kick,"retaliated Ross.  
  
Tauros ran at Machoke, head down to ram him. Machoke ducked and swung a  
  
powerful leg under Tauros, tripping it.  
  
"Karate chop!" stated Ross.  
  
Machoke raised a hand and brought it down hard on Tauros's chest. Tauros  
  
started to have difficulty breathing and was called back.  
  
"Raticate, GO!" declared Chopper, "Hyper fang!"  
  
"Seismic toss!" stated Ross.  
  
Raticate sunk its powerful jaws into Machoke's arm and refused to let go.  
  
"Karate chop!" instructed Ross.  
  
Machoke swung his arm fiercely, but Raticate still wouldn't let go.  
  
"Try kicking it!" suggested Ross.  
  
Machoke did, but Raticate still wouldn't release.  
  
"ARGH! Machoke, return!" recalled a frustrated Ross, "Go Onix, tackle!"  
  
"Super fang!" called Chopper  
  
Onix charged the rat, but it tried to bite at the rock hard Onix. Ross  
  
thought about what to do for a couple seconds before he had an idea.  
  
"Ultra fang!" declared Chopper.  
  
Raticate tried to bite Onix again, but Ross was ready.  
  
"BIND!" ordered Ross.  
  
Onix wrapped its body around the unfortunate rat, sending it to a crushing  
  
defeat. Chopper recalled Raticate and sent out a balloon-like pokemon with long  
  
ears.  
  
"Wigglytuff, SING!" instructed Chopper, covering his ears.  
  
Ross did the same and asked for a rock throw. Wigglytuff started to sing  
  
and Onix, with nothing to cover its ears with, fell fast asleep.  
  
"Onix, return," recalled Ross, "Go Hitmonchan! Ice punch!"  
  
Before Chopper could react, Hitmonchan appeared and punched Wigglytuff,  
  
encasing it in ice. Chopper recalled Wigglytuff and sent out Kangaskhan.  
  
"Dizzy punch!" ordered Chopper.  
  
"Agility!" stated Ross.  
  
Hitmonchan's speed increased before being knocked silly.  
  
"Mega punch!" called Chopper.  
  
Both pokemon thought it was their trainer and swung a powerful fist at each  
  
other. Hitmonchan missed from the last blow and was knocked across the room,  
  
out cold.  
  
"Hitmonchan, return!" stated Ross, "Go Mankey! Fury swipes!"  
  
Mankey swung his claws deep into Kangaskhan's face before kicking into its  
  
stomach. Kangaskhan grew angry and went into a rage.  
  
"Slash, karate chop, then seismic toss!" Ross rattled off.  
  
Mankey ran at Kangaskhan and slashed him into facing down. Mankey then did  
  
a flip, laying a karate chop onto Kangaskhan's back before landing behind him.  
  
Mankey then turned around, grabbed Kangaskhan's tail, and started to swing his  
  
opponent in a circle. Finally, the blurry spin released Kangaskhan, sending it  
  
into the hard floor, too weak to continue.  
  
"Kangaskhan, return," ordered Chopper, "Persian, GO! Bite!"  
  
A large cat appeared and charge at Mankey. Ross called on Mankey's most  
  
powerful attack, thrash. The two pokemon went into frenzy, lasting several  
  
minutes. Finally, Ross's pokemon threw Persian, knocking it out. However, the  
  
pokemon had shackles and was much bigger.  
  
"PRImeape," stated the pokemon.  
  
"Persian, return!" called back Chopper, "Porygon, GO!"  
  
The digital pokemon appeared and unleashed a mental attack that easily  
  
defeated Primeape.  
  
"Primeape, return," instructed Ross, "Graveler, GO!"  
  
Graveler ran out and tackled Porygon. Porygon next used a psychic attack,  
  
confusing Graveler into exploding, knocking out both pokemon.  
  
"I guess you won," commented Chopper, "I'm out of pokemon and you're still  
  
able to send out one more."  
  
Chopper pushed a button a model Zapdos flew out from behind a light and  
  
dropped a 2- dimensional Rattata. Ross picked up the badge and pinned it inside  
  
his coat.  
  
"Enjoy your badge," congratulated Chopper.  
  
Ross turned to leave when Tyra ran in.  
  
"Chopper, I-"  
  
"YOU!" exclaimed Ross. Chapter 117-Hitmonchan's Revenge  
  
"You two know each other?" asked Chopper.  
  
"Know each other!?!" shouted Ross, "Her Cloyster broke my Hitmonlee's leg!"  
  
"WHAT!?!" complained Chopper, "You said that he took you by surprise with a  
  
Gyarados and you all ran!"  
  
"Well," started Tyra, "We confronted him and he sent out a Hitmonlee first.  
  
Cloyster clamped Hitmonlee's leg and Hitmonlee kicked him off. That was when  
  
he sent out the Gyarados and we got scared and ran."  
  
"I see," said a disappointed Chopper, "When I send you out in charge of the  
  
gang, I expect you to be totally honest."  
  
"I was honest," protested Tyra, "I just forgot to mention some things."  
  
"Like breaking a Hitmonlee's leg," reminded Chopper.  
  
"Maybe I should let Hitmonchan have at you. He is Hitmonlee's best  
  
friend," suggested Ross, "Tyra, I challenge you to a pokemon battle. My  
  
Hitmonchan against any one of yours."  
  
"That's a good idea," confirmed Chopper.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
After treating and informing Hitmonchan, Tyra stood at the other end and  
  
sent out a Pidgey. Hitmonchan was extremely mad and was punching a mile a  
  
second.  
  
"Thunder and ice punches will work best," reminded Ross.  
  
Hitmonchan nodded and ran out. The fight was so fast that neither trainer  
  
could keep up. Pidgey tried to attack several times, but Hitmonchan always  
  
answered with a powerful punch, deflecting the attack.  
  
Finally, Hitmonchan went on the offensive. With a vicious combination of  
  
thunder, ice, and fire punches, Hitmonchan cornered Pidgey into a corner.  
  
Pidgey was in bad shape. As a final blow, Hitmonchan mega-punched Pidgey right  
  
through the wall!  
  
"Pidgey!" cried Tyra, running past Hitmonchan and reaching through the  
  
hole. When removed, the little bird had spirals in his eyes along, a large  
  
bruise on its chest, along with burns, paralysis, and frozen body parts.  
  
"Mo-mmy?" asked the dazed bird.  
  
Hitmonchan let out a huge sigh before walking back to Ross. The small  
  
Pidgey broke into a round of singing 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.'  
  
"Incredible," commented Chopper, "Especially since flyer pokemon have the  
  
advantage over fighting pokemon." Tyra didn't have anything to say as she ran  
  
past Ross for the door. "I must say that it has been, interesting to meet you."  
  
"Likewise," complied Ross. Ross and Hitmonlee walked through the door for  
  
the pokemon center to revitalize the other pokemon. Chapter 118-These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things  
  
"HEY! HITMONLEE!" called Nurse Joy.  
  
They were in a training section of the pokemon center where Hitmonlee  
  
giving pointers to other pokemon.  
  
"You got an audio letter," called Joy.  
  
A look of joy spread across his face as he hobbled over to the door on  
  
crutches. Joy handed Hitmonlee a tape player and cassette before leaving for  
  
the desk. Hitmonlee pressed the play button and Hitmonchan's voice emerged from  
  
the speaker.  
  
"Hey Hitmonlee," spoke Hitmonchan's voice, "We heard that you're doing  
  
well. It's a shame that you had to miss the normal gym. Ross managed to win  
  
and on our way out, we encountered none other then Tyra."  
  
"Hitmonchan totally beat the snot out of her Pidgey," announced Ross,  
  
"Hitmonchan didn't even get a scratch and mega-punched the lousy bird clear  
  
through a wall!"  
  
'And I missed it,' thought a disappointed Hitmonlee.  
  
"We'll see you in a few days," chimed in Hitmonchan, "Take care of  
  
yourself."  
  
The tape became quiet.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Are you sure?" asked Ross, "Once I evolve you with a stone, there's no  
  
going back."  
  
Staryu, Pikachu, Growlithe, Exeggcute, Mew, and Vulpix confronted him that  
  
morning, claiming to be ready to evolve. After considering what Ross said for 3  
  
seconds, they confirmed that they were ready. Ross dug out the stones he would  
  
need and paused for a moment. This was going to be the last time he sees his  
  
friends in their original forms.  
  
"If you're sure," surrendered Ross, "I guess there's no stopping you."  
  
Ross placed a water stone before Staryu, thunder before Pikachu, fire in  
  
front of Growlithe and Vulpix, grass before Exeggcute, and mist before Mew. The  
  
pokemon looked at each other, those that could saluted the others, and collected  
  
their stones. As the pokemon changed shape, Ross could only let out a long  
  
sigh.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
For the first time in his journey, Ross had to choose which way to go.  
  
There was a fork in the road before him. The right-most path was labeled to Hop  
  
Hop Hop Town and the heavy gym. The center right path led to Dark Town, a place  
  
that housed the Large Pokemon Gym. To the center left, was a path leading to  
  
the Fushcia City Fighting Pokemon Gym. The fourth, left- most path led to the  
  
Ancient Pokemon Gym of Grandpa Canyon.  
  
No matter which path Ross took, he was going to have to backtrack for at  
  
least one gym, so Ross took the longest of the paths to the far-left.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Several days later, Ross stepped into the small town at Grandpa Canyon and  
  
let out a huge sigh of relief. Hitmonlee was supposed to be well enough for  
  
Ross to claim in a couple days.  
  
Ross had to wait until tomorrow before he could go to the Ancient Pokemon  
  
Gym. But that was fine with him. He had been battling all day and was ready  
  
for a break,  
  
But someone at the pokemon center wasn't about to let him.  
  
"Why don't you just leave me alone?" Ross asked his brother.  
  
"Because I'm not about to let you have a moment's peace until I can finally  
  
beat you in a pokemon battle!" proclaimed Adam.  
  
"Fine," surrendered Ross, "But only if you'll let me have some peace for a  
  
week."  
  
"Okay," admitted Adam, "2 on 2.  
  
"Chronamew, I choose YOU," called Ross, throwing a pokeball. A white cat,  
  
bigger then Mew, but smaller than Mewtwo appeared in a fighting stance.  
  
It took Adam a few moments to regain composure before sending out a  
  
Dugtrio.  
  
'Psychic,' thought Ross.  
  
Adam called for a scratch. Chronamew knocked out one of Dugtrio's heads  
  
with the psychic attack before getting a scratched toe.  
  
"Dig," called Adam.  
  
'Barrier,' countered Ross.  
  
Dugtrio dug into the ground and emerged into Chronamew's barrier. The hit  
  
knocked out another one of Dugtrio's heads and scared the last head.  
  
'Finish it with a swift attack!' confirmed Ross.  
  
Chronamew opened its mouth, sending several stars at the last of Dugtrio's  
  
heads. The final Dugtrio head panicked and fainted before the stars even hit  
  
it.  
  
"Dugtrio, return," called Adam before sending out a new pokeball.  
  
"Victreebell," introduced the pokemon.  
  
"Part poison?" asked Ross, "Poor choice. Chronamew, psybeam!"  
  
Chronamew blinked and a powerful ray of light shot out from them and  
  
knocked out Victreebell in one hit.  
  
"I don't believe it!" hollered Adam, attracting the attention of several  
  
passers-by, "You didn't even give your pokemon any commands!"  
  
"Did I? asked Ross with fake innocence. Adam stormed into the pokemon  
  
center and didn't say a word for the remainder of the evening.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Back in Pallet Town, Professor Oak receives some terrible news.  
  
"You have the final stage of Zymerman's disease," diagnosed the doctor by  
  
his side, "There is no cure."  
  
"How long do I have?" asked the demanding Professor.  
  
"A week," confessed the doctor, "More than likely less."  
  
"Please contact the following people to come here," started Oak, "The Elite  
  
Masters, my family, and the gym leaders." Chapter 119-A Shocking Discovery  
  
The next morning, Ross stood in front of the Ancient Pokemon Gym. It  
  
didn't take long to get inside, Ross was only third to arrive. The other  
  
trainers filed in and out rather quickly, complaining about the rock and water  
  
combination pokemon.  
  
'Rock and water are both suckers to plants,' thought Ross, 'Everyone knows  
  
THAT!'  
  
Ross walked into the arena and saw a man in a lab coat.  
  
"I am Professor Archaic," introduced the man, "I study ancient pokemon and  
  
their techniques here. I presume that you wish to battle me."  
  
"Yes," answered Ross, "How many pokemon?"  
  
"Three 1 on 1 matches," stated Archaic, "And you must win all of them.  
  
Your first opponent will be Omastar, GO!"  
  
A blue pokemon in a spiked nautilus shell appeared, ready to fight.  
  
"Bellsprout, GO!" exclaimed Ross and the flower ran out. "Vine whip!"  
  
ordered Ross.  
  
"Spike cannon," proclaimed the professor.  
  
Two spikes flew at Leafeon, who caught both of them and slammed them into  
  
Omastar's mouth. With Omastar stunned, Leafeon slammed its vines against the  
  
sides of Omastar's shell. Omastar couldn't take much more, so Archaic recalled  
  
Omastar, as did Ross with Leafeon.  
  
"Kabutops," stated the professor, "You're up."  
  
A pokemon that Ross thought looked like a Scyther appeared and readied to  
  
battle.  
  
"Oddish, GO!" called Ross, "Mega drain!"  
  
This battle lasted even shorter than last as Oddish drained Kabutops of all  
  
its energy in one attack. Archaic recalled Kabutops and sent out a familiar  
  
flyer.  
  
"Aero!" cried the Aerodactyl.  
  
"Oddish, return!" stated Ross, "Articuno, GO! Blizzard!"  
  
"Supersonic," instructed the professor.  
  
Articuno turned a bright blue as a blizzard appeared in the room. Unable  
  
to see where it was aiming, Aerodactyl used supersonic on a wall before falling,  
  
encased in ice.  
  
"Dang," cursed Archaic, "I guess you win."  
  
The professor flipped a light switch and the floor behind Ross opened up.  
  
A stand ascended from the hole, holding a badge resembling a helix fossil. Ross  
  
took it and stepped outside as a phone rang somewhere.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
"Now," Ross asked himself, looking at a map, "Where do I go now?"  
  
Suddenly, Ross was trampled by someone from behind. When Ross looked up,  
  
he saw Professor Archaic calling out another Aerodactyl.  
  
"What's the rush?" asked Ross.  
  
"Professor Oak is dying!" explained the professor, flying up into the air  
  
on Aerodactyl, "I have to leave for Pallet Town."  
  
'WHAT!' thought Ross. He whipped out his pokedex and dialed the number Ash  
  
gave him in an emergency.  
  
"Hey Ross," answered the Ash on the pokedex screen, "I can't talk, I'm in a  
  
bit of a hurry."  
  
"To Professor Oak's I take it," said Ross.  
  
"You know?" asked the bewildered Ash over a screeching Zapdos in the  
  
background.  
  
"I just battled Professor Archaic when he heard," Ross explained, "I'll see  
  
you there!" With that, Ross hung up the phone, called out Fearow, and started  
  
on his way to Pallet Town. Chapter 120-The Hospital  
  
When Ross and Fearow landed in front of the hospital in Pallet Town, Todd  
  
was sitting outside, WITHOUT a camera. Ross put Fearow back in his pokeball,  
  
took off his hat, and brushed his hair back.  
  
"How's he doing?" asked a concerned Ross.  
  
"Not well," stated Todd in a grave tone, "He doesn't have long. Room 259."  
  
Ross nodded and walked inside. Instead of waiting for the elevator, Ross  
  
ran up a flight of stairs and hurried down the hall until he saw Ash's Pikachu  
  
sitting next to an open door.  
  
"Hi Pikachu," said Ross. Pikachu's eyes were filled with tears as he  
  
acknowledged Ross's presence.  
  
Ross walked in and saw about twenty people inside and one occupied bed.  
  
Everyone let Ross by as he walked up to the bed.  
  
Professor Oak looked at Ross and weakly said, "Well, if it isn't Ross."  
  
"Hey Oak," greeted Ross, "How do you feel?"  
  
"I doubt I could feel any worse," stated the once proud professor, "But I'm  
  
glad that you could make it."  
  
"When I heard that you were dying," started Ross, eyes filling with tears,  
  
"I had to find out if it was true."  
  
"I'm afraid so," admitted Oak, "At least I could see the boy that managed  
  
to obtain three of the four legendary pokemon so quickly before I die."  
  
"Actually," corrected Ross, "It's now all four."  
  
"You managed to obtain an Arcanine," asked a surprised Oak before having a  
  
coughing fit. When Oak stopped, he asked, "May I see them?"  
  
Everyone decided to step outside. But when the room was empty, the male  
  
Zapdos Ross caught and left in Ash's care was still in the room. Ross pulled  
  
out three more pokeballs and dropped them.  
  
Arcanine, Articuno, and Moltres emerged. The three birds sat on Ross's  
  
shoulders and head while Arcanine was propped up against the bedside.  
  
"Well I'll be," commented Oak, "You managed to get them."  
  
"I still have a lot more pokemon to get though," confessed Ross, "A lot of  
  
the I can find in the Safari Zone and Seafoam Islands."  
  
"Well," started Oak, "I think that I can help you with some of them." Oak  
  
opened a bedside drawer and removed a small chest. "This chest holds the  
  
account of my most prized pokemon, fossils, and cures," explained the professor,  
  
"Since you were the only one of my trainers that showed up without being asked,  
  
I want you to have them." The professor held out the box.  
  
Ross looked at it and said, "I don't think I can take that. Shouldn't you  
  
give it to one of the gym leaders?"  
  
"They already have received all of the knowledge I gathered in my entire  
  
profession," reminded the professor, "Take it, I insist."  
  
Ross reached out and grabbed hold of the chest with both hands. As a tear  
  
trickled down his left cheek, Ross said, "Thank you. It has been a sincere  
  
pleasure to have known you Professor Oak."  
  
The professor smiled and said, "The pleasure, was all, " The  
  
great man's eyes slipped shut before he could finish his last sentence.  
  
"Professor Oak?" asked Ross, shaking his arm, "Professor Oak?" 


End file.
